How Do I Get Dad Out of His Cluttered, Unsafe Home?
People want to stay in their own homes. You hear it and read about it all the time. And there’s some merit...
Dementia
“I Promised My Parents I’d Never Put Them in a Care Home”
Caregiving is a job that is full of ups and downs. Many of us take on this role out of love and...
What to Do When Older Adults Refuse to Bathe and Change Their Clothes
When it comes to caring for the elderly, hygiene issues are surprisingly common. Determining why their bathing habits have changed is the...
Ways to Minimize Grief for a Surviving Spouse with Dementia
Deciding whether to tell someone who is cognitively impaired that their spouse has died is a serious and often recurring struggle. Dementia...
Rummaging: When People with Dementia Dig Through Drawers or Trash
Dear Carol: I’m struggling. My husband was always super neat, but Alzheimer’s gradually took away his ability to organize even the basics...
Planning a “Picnic” for a Loved One in a Senior Living Community
While most senior living communities offer an array of programs and events, activities directors often work with limited budgets and are challenged...
Family Caregivers Still Undervalued By Many
We live in a society that tends to value what we do over who we are. If what we do isn’t highly...
Should You Convince Your Aging Parents to Move Closer to You?
As a columnist for a newspaper on the northern plains, I often have readers write me that they are begging their parents...
Adult Day Services Can Fill a Gap for Seniors and Their Caregivers
Most seniors are keen on staying in their homes as they age, but family caregivers often struggle to meet their loved ones’...
Shadowing with Dementia: When They Panic If You Are Out of Sight
Dear Carol: After my husband retired, he wanted to be involved in whatever I was doing, no matter how mundane. To me,...
