{"id":8537,"date":"2021-11-08T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/?p=8537"},"modified":"2024-06-18T14:16:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T20:16:20","slug":"national-alzheimers-disease-awareness-month-considerations-for-dementia-caregivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/general\/national-alzheimers-disease-awareness-month-considerations-for-dementia-caregivers\/","title":{"rendered":"National Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Awareness Month: Considerations for Dementia Caregivers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.48&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.19.10&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Written By: Anysia J. Ensslen-Boggs, Ed.D., CCC-SLP<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class=\"style-scope ytd-expander\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, there are approximately 11 million unpaid caregivers caring for someone with Alzheimer\u2019s disease or dementia in the United States. 18.4 billion hours of care, valued at $232 billion are provided by family and other unpaid caregivers. If you have ever cared for a family member with dementia or watched as another family member takes over as a primary caregiver, then you have first-hand knowledge of the complexity of this difficult situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Watch the video below to learn more about the progression of Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Eq_Er-tqPsA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are several factors that place dementia caregivers at a higher risk of experiencing their own physical, emotional, and\/or psychological problems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some of these risk factors include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Being female<a href=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8538 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-4-182x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"294\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-4-182x300.jpg 182w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-4.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Having fewer years of formal education<\/li>\n<li>Living with the person you are caring for<\/li>\n<li>Social isolation<\/li>\n<li>Having depression<\/li>\n<li>Financial difficulties<\/li>\n<li>Higher number of hours spent caregiving<\/li>\n<li>Lack of coping skills and difficulty solving problems<\/li>\n<li>Lack of choice in being a caregiver<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>If you are a caregiver yourself, or you are close to someone who is a caregiver, its important to be aware of the signs of caregiver \u201cburnout\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Feeling overwhelmed or constantly worried<\/li>\n<li>Feeling tired often<\/li>\n<li>Getting too much sleep or not enough sleep<\/li>\n<li>Gaining or losing weight<\/li>\n<li>Becoming easily irritated or angry<\/li>\n<li>Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy<\/li>\n<li>Feeling sad<\/li>\n<li>Having frequent headaches, bodily pain or other physical problems<\/li>\n<li>Abusing alcohol or drugs, including prescription medications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To avoid \u201cburnout\u201d or breakdown it\u2019s crucial that caregivers are encouraged to also take care of themselves. Even though it may be difficult at times, it\u2019s important that caregivers are realistic about what they are able to provide to their loved one with dementia, and that they ask for help and additional resources if needed. Caregivers should also take the time to connect with others who understand what they\u2019re going through. This can be accomplished by joining a support group or seeking out social support from friends and family. As always, caregivers should not forget to take care of their own health\u2014make sure you keep up with doctor\u2019s appointments, counseling appointments, and exercise\/recreation. Remember, we can\u2019t pour from an empty cup!<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re not ready to place your loved one in a skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility, don\u2019t forget that<\/strong><strong>\u00a0other options are available.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture2-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8539 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture2-2-150x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"243\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture2-2-150x300.png 150w, https:\/\/blogcontent.summit-education.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture2-2.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 243px) 100vw, 243px\" \/><\/a>In-home respite:<\/strong> Health care aides come to your home to provide\u00a0companionship, nursing services or both<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adult care centers and programs:<\/strong> Some centers provide care for both older adults and young children, and the two groups may spend time together<\/li>\n<li><strong>Short-term nursing homes:<\/strong> Some assisted living homes, memory care homes and nursing homes accept people needing care for short stays while caregivers are away (this option has likely changed with COVID)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>So, how do we make the difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decision to move our loved one out of their home and into a different level of care? Here are some guidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our loved one with dementia is displaying more consistent signs of aggression which pose a risk to family and caregivers<\/li>\n<li>Extreme caregiver stress, often leading to resentment of the person with dementia<\/li>\n<li>Escalating care needs (incontinence, total assistance with activities of daily living, non-ambulatory, unable to get into\/out of bed on their own)<\/li>\n<li>Wandering inside or outside the home, which becomes a safety issue<\/li>\n<li>Our loved one with dementia has reached a point where they do not consistently recognize their home as their own<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Remember, a person with dementia is not <em>giving<\/em> you a hard time, they are <em>having<\/em> a hard time. While caring for our loved ones with dementia, remember <strong>respect, grace, restraint<\/strong>. Take care of yourself while taking care of them!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Explore online continuing education courses from Anysia below:<\/p>\n<p class=\"course-short-title\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/GDEMAE.1\/#\/onlinevideo\/6-ceus\">Therapists Rehabilitation Strategies for Dementia Patients<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"course-short-title\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/CCLEAE.1.2CREDIT\/cleft-palate-in-the-school-age-population#\/live-webinar\/2-ceus\/live-interactive-webinar-ol-2021-12-07\">Cleft Palate in the School-Age Population<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/CVOIAE.1.2CREDIT\/adult-and-pediatric-voice-disorders#\/onlinevideo\/2-ceus\">Adult and Pediatric Voice Disorders<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/CCOGAE.1.2CREDIT\/improving-cognitive-communication-deficits#\/live-webinar\/2-ceus\/live-interactive-webinar-ol-2021-12-14\">Improving Cognitive Communication Deficits<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/GSTRAE.1\/stroke-recovery-strategies#\/onlinevideo\/6-ceus\">Stroke Recovery Strategies<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/course\/CPROAE.1.2CREDIT\/the-therapist-s-role-in-improving-pragmatic-language#\/onlinevideo\/2-ceus\">The Therapist&#8217;s Role in Improving Pragmatic Language<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"merch-shelf\" class=\"style-scope ytd-watch-flexy\">Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.summit-education.com\/ce\">summit-education.com<\/a> for more information.<\/div>\n<div id=\"header\" class=\"style-scope ytd-item-section-renderer\">\n<div id=\"title\" class=\"style-scope ytd-comments-header-renderer\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written By: Anysia J. Ensslen-Boggs, Ed.D., CCC-SLP\u00a0\u00a0According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, there are approximately 11 million unpaid caregivers caring for someone with Alzheimer\u2019s disease or dementia in the United States. 18.4 billion hours of care, valued at $232 billion are provided by family and other unpaid caregivers. If you have ever cared for a family [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,130],"tags":[199],"class_list":["post-8537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-speech-language-pathology","tag-aensslen-boggs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8537"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8867,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8537\/revisions\/8867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summit-education.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}