Requiring specialist support and care in your senior years is common, but it can be hard to accept this fact. The loss of being able to do things independently, or struggling to take part in daily activities that you used to love, even facing up to declining health can all be overwhelming and upsetting.

This is why a lot of elderly citizens might not want to speak out about needing help, whether they’re reluctant to accept they need it or don’t want to feel like a burden on their loved ones or others. While it’s understandable to have these concerns, it’s important to make sure senior citizens get the right care they need, so you need to be looking out for signs that perhaps your elderly parent or relative might need some help.

Below are a few indicators that it could be time to consider professional care for your parent.

Problems with Their Memory

Everyone can be forgetful or get confused from time to time, but if you’re noticing that your elderly parent is beginning to find themselves in this situation regularly, this could be cause for concern. Alzheimer’s disease and general dementia are common issues that people face later in life, and if they are left to live alone with these conditions, it can be dangerous, as well as very distressing for them.

Some other signs of dementia other than problems with memory are mood swings, difficulty communicating verbally or writing things down, a struggle to carry out simple daily tasks, getting confused over the time and place they’re in. If your elderly parent is suffering from dementia, they may need to move to a specialist memory care home as the condition progresses.

Frequent Falls

Losing balance or tripping down the stairs is an unpleasant experience for anyone, but for a younger person, the recovery from these falls can be quicker and the results less damaging. If an elderly person falls and breaks something or is unable to get themselves back up, the consequences can be much harder for them.

Not only will their recovery from an injury take longer, but if they live alone at home, they could be stuck on the floor until someone finds them. If your parent has begun experiencing more frequent falls, at the very least, get them a personal alarm to wear around their neck or wrist.

They might be better off moving to somewhere like this home for assisted living in Fort Lauderdale. In a facility like this, they will have private rooms or apartments but will also have access to a range of care to help them with day to day living.

Limited Mobility

If your parent is beginning to struggle with getting around and staying active, some things might need to change. For example, if they start to use a wheelchair, having ramps installed at their home, doorways widened, and stairlifts are just some of the modifications to a property that might need to be made.

Additionally, having a personal care aide come to help them with things like their shopping, meal preparation, and cleaning tasks might benefit them if they are unable to do these things themselves.

Specialist Healthcare Needs

Your elderly parent or relative might end up suffering from specific health conditions or illnesses later in life, in which case they might need specialist care. Moving them into an assisted living facility or having a nurse come and visit them at home to monitor their health and manage their medication are a couple of the options available to you in this scenario.

Annual health checks with their doctor are recommended to make sure that if there is a new health issue, it can be diagnosed quickly, and allow you more time to explore your options, and organizes specialist care.

Loneliness

If your parent or relative lives alone and doesn’t have frequent contact with friends or family members, they might start to feel isolated and alone. This can have negative impacts on their mental health and their physical well-being as a result, which is why it’s important to reach out to them as often as possible to check-in.

If you live some distance away, which makes regular visits difficult, perhaps discussing the option with them of moving into a retirement community like these 55 and older communities in Utah, is a good idea. This way, they can make new friends from their age group and will be able to form a better social life.

Retirement communities often have facilities specifically for socializing within older age groups, so all your parents will need to do is visit their local facilities to be surrounded by friendly peers. If that is not possible, you may want to look into companion care services Tucson or other companion services that provide in-home care in your local area.

What Kind of Care is There?

There has been some mention of care options already in this article, but here are a few more examples and further detail. Assisted Living homes, as previously mentioned, are similar to a retirement home in the sense that there are private rooms or apartments for your parent to live in.

There are also organized social activities, clubs, and leisure facilities on-site. However, how an assisted living facility differs is that there are professional healthcare workers around 24/7, and they will help manage medications and treatments for the residents and provide additional support with daily tasks like grooming. Take a look at a Utah retirement community like Starhaven Villas as an example, then locate one in your area if you decide this is a good solution.

If your parent does not require special care for a condition such as dementia, there are some other options to look at. Hiring personal aides or nurses to visit your parent at their residence daily or weekly is a good alternative. Some  caregivers will even move in with your parent if they need full-time help.

You could even think about moving your elderly parent in with you; however, it’s important to carefully consider the complexities of this situation, and whether or not you can realistically provide that level of care for them. You may still need to hire professional help part-time to help you care for your parent anyway.

Looking after a family is important, and after a lifetime of looking out for you, your parents deserve you to return the favor. Even if they are reluctant to accept care initially, if you are seeing some of the signs listed above, it might be time to sit down with them and look at the different options available to you, and to find the right kind of care that will put your mind at ease and that they’re also comfortable with.

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