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Meaningful Connections Program You May Need To Using Touch to Provide Stimulation Reducing the Stress in Caregiving Dealing with Behavior Symptoms Emotional Aspects of Caregiving How To Deal with Your Feelings Find Ways to Care for Yourself
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You may need to: • Talk more loudly to those with hearing difficulties • Talk more slowly and appreciate a slower paced conversation • Repeat yourself as needed • Keep your speech more simple • Avoid sensory overload: • i. Turn off the TV • ii. Reduce environmental sound • iii. Do one activity at a time The slowing of cognitive processes and the reduction of working-memory capacity in elderly affects their speed of talking and may require that you adjust the pace of conversation to ensure that the individual feels comfortable. Often a slower pace allows you and your senior to greatly appreciate his or her accumulation of life experience and expertise. Communication with Elderly Individuals Include: Approach: Show a positive attitude
Verbal Message:
• i. In validation the caregiver listens carefully to what the elderly individual is saying
• ii. The caregiver does not correct any wrong statements, but responds to what she or he believes the elderly individual is feeling Nonverbal message:
Using touch to provide needed stimulation: Feel free to: • Give a greeting and leaving hug
Watch for signs of increasing anxiety and make adjustments when they occur Look for: • Loss of eye contact • Repetitive movements, wringing hands, and clenched fists • Increased motor activity, such as frequent changing in position or pacing • Change in tone of voice, repetitive sounds, crying, and complaining Take corrective action if these occur by: • Delaying visits until later • Taking steps to comfort, reassure or distract the elderly individual • Match demands of care with elderly individual's ability • Make sure the person is using any needed visual or hearing aids • Break down complex tasks into single steps • Be flexible • Do not force a elderly individual to do anything when she or he will not cooperate
Dementia, stress, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness from deep personal loss can cause behavior symptoms. • Stay calm • Approach slowly and calmly from the side or the front • Do not use gestures that could startle or frighten the elderly individual • Respect the elderly individual s need for personal space • Do not argue or try to reason with the elderly individual • Offer reassurance through gentle touch if the person is open to it • Express support when the elderly individual is able to hear you • Use distraction by getting the elderly individual involved in conversation of an activity • Let the person who has the best relationship with the elderly individual respond
• i. Approach calmly • ii. Do not startle • iii. Give the help needed • iv. Or distract the person while you make the situation safer • v. Call a staff member if you need help
Get staff to help you if the elderly individual needs assistance. Emotional Aspects of Caregiving: It is also normal to experience fear, confusion, frustration, depression, anger and guilt. As a caregiver, it is not unusual to face and deal with many anxieties that are associated with concerns for the outlook of your Companion, your own ability to handle the situation, and your own future. Disappointment and frustration can result from unrealistic expectations of your elderly individual, it is easy to expect either too much or too little. Frequently there is frustration associated with unrealized hopes and in looking for signs of improvement or validation. Frustration can come in trying to communicate, in trying to understand the needs and desires of your elderly individual who may have compromised cognitive ability. Feelings of helplessness can occur as you begin to recognize the needs and demands of your elderly individual that you will not be able to satisfy. It can be frustrating to feel powerless to change a person's situation. Unresolved disappointment, anxiety, and frustration can contribute to feelings of anger. Elderly individuals with cognitive impairments can behave in ways that are irritating and wear on your patience. At times, your efforts to be present and to talk may be rebuffed.
The solution is both simple, but challenging:
Unacknowledged feelings that are not allowed expression can build. Denial of negative feelings can lead to other problems. If anger or other negative feelings are expressed or displaced inappropriately they can lead to guilt and depression.
Although not always easy to do, it can be very useful to talk to others about your feelings. Talk to other visitation program members, to those administering the program, to staff at Ellensburg Adult Activity Center, and to others who provide you with emotional support. Find ways to Care for Yourself: Volunteering to work with seniors can be a very satisfying role. However it is important that those working in helping roles learn good self care. Some ways to do this include:
PRIVACY / CONFIDENTIALITY: Conveying respect and affirming the worth of the individual also occurs through keeping private any and all personal information that may be disclosed by the individual. Disclosures by the individual can normally be discussed ONLY with staff of the facility or Senior Visitation Program Staff. Never, under any circumstances, should personal information about the individual(s) be discussed with others. Some examples of inappropriate situations include:
When discussing the individual(s) as a part of class discussion or a written assignment centered on the service-learning experience, care must be taken to: • Change the individual's name
References: Brandt. A. L. (1998). Caregiver's reprieve: A guide to emotional survival when you're caring for someone you love. San Luis Obispo, CA: Impact Publishers. Knight, B. G. (1996). Psychotherapy with older adults (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Taylor, J. A., Ray, W. A., & Meador, K. G. (1990). Managing behavioral symptoms in nursing home elderly individual s: A manual for nursing home staff. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine .
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