Getting dressed seems like one of those tasks that your senior is always going to be able to do. But physical and mental changes can make that simple task a lot more difficult. You can do more than you might believe to keep getting dressed as easy as possible for your senior.
Evaluate How Easy it Is for Your Senior to Dress Herself
One of the first things you want to do when you’re starting to adjust your senior’s wardrobe is look at what’s working for her now and what isn’t. If fastenings like buttons or zippers are more difficult now, that’s something that might need to go. Talk to your elderly family member about what works for her and what doesn’t right now. She may have some ideas about her clothing that you wouldn’t have realized were important.
Consider How You Lay out Her Clothes
If you are at a stage with your senior in which you’re laying out her clothing, be careful how you do this. Laying her clothing out randomly can actually be confusing and might make getting dressed a lot harder for her than you might think. By placing clothing so that the innermost items are on top of the stack, you’re reducing the risk that she might need to backtrack while getting dressed, which can be frustrating for her. This can help her to continue dressing herself for a lot longer, too.
Stick with Clothes She Loves, if You Can
Whether your senior seems to care about her clothing or not, she does still have preferences. Clothing that she used to like because of colors or textures are likely still going to be favorites for her. If you’re now in charge of her wardrobe, try to remember that she does have those preferences. Any time you can give her choices, try to do so.
Pay Attention to Whether Choices Overwhelm Her
And although choices are important, try not to overwhelm your senior with them. Instead of having your senior choose from her entire wardrobe, give her two choices. That’s likely to be less overwhelming for her, and yet she still gets to participate and choose the clothing that she wants to wear for that day.
If your elderly family member needs more help getting dressed, it could be a good idea to bring in elderly care providers. They can make dressing and other tasks a lot easier for your elderly family member.
If you or an aging loved one needs Elderly Care in Carmichael, CA, remember Senior Home Care Services. Call us at (916) 514-7006 for more information.
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