As a caregiver, you need to know what major categories encompass the areas of your senior’s life in which she needs assistance. Learning those categories helps you find the right solutions for her needs.
Safety at Home.
Your senior’s safety at home can cover a lot of ground. There’s general safety, like whether she can walk through her home without tripping on clutter. But there are also other types of safety considerations. Does her home have maintenance needs? Can she use her appliances safely? These types of concerns are ones that you may need to go over periodically.
Mobility.
How well does your senior move? If she’s in pain, she might not be able to move as safely as she once did. She might need to use assistive devices, like a cane, in order to move safely but she might be resistant to that idea. For aging adults who use a wheelchair, you need to determine if she has enough clearance to get safely through the entire house with it.
Transportation.
At some point your elderly family member might not be able to drive any longer. This can be a really difficult situation for your senior to accept because to her it can mean that she’s now dependent on you and other people for the simplest things. Having help from home care providers to do the driving for her can make a huge difference.
Household Tasks.
Household tasks like cleaning, laundry, and cooking can take up an awful lot of your senior’s time and energy. That’s energy that she can be putting toward other activities, like hobbies that she enjoys. If you outsource those tasks to someone else, your elderly family member doesn’t have to worry about them at all.
Personal Tasks.
Mobility problems and pain can both contribute to making personal tasks, like dressing or showering much more difficult than your senior expects them to be. It’s also embarrassing for some people to admit that they need help with something that has always been easy for them to do.
Socialization.
As your senior’s health changes, her ability to keep up with her social circle can also change. She may be spending the majority of her time at home, which can make it difficult for her to spend time with other people. You can help her to find solutions for that problem that keep her socially engaged.
At various points, your elderly family member might have need for assistance in one or more of these different areas. Your job as her caregiver is to determine when you need to step in and provide more help in those categories so that she’s not struggling.
If you or an aging loved one needs caregiver services in Roseville, CA, remember Senior Home Care Services. Call us at (916) 514-7006 for more information.
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