My elderly father has Alzheimer’s and I am new to caregiving. Help! Where do I start?

If i could only go back in time. When my father knew he was starting to loose his memory.. alot of stimutatin to the brain simple writting readind coloring crosswordd puzzles would be a great start

Lori start by reading up on Alzheimers & Dementia on this page. There are also a lot of forums from care givers here on this site. Read some and you will know that we are all here to help one another and give one another support.

We are all care-givers and we have questions, concerns, comments, and suggestions. There are a lot of people who are in the same position as you are now. Listen and learn from each and every one. You will soon discover that you are not alone in your journey and everyone will help you come through.

Find as many local programs as you can. There are home health aids,adult day centers, etc. Your dad would greatly benefit from being in a daycare setting. They do all kinds of activities geared toward keeping the mind stimulated. Once I got Mom to realize daycare was a good thing for her, she decided she actually liked going and now has her circle of friends that she sees 3 times a week.
Her dementia has seriously impaired her judgment and is a safety issue. She has Parkinsons which has progressed to the point that she cannot safely walk on her own without falling. Unfortunately her severe OCD will not allow her to sit still. She will literally try to get up from a sitting position 40 to 50 times a minute, when agitated. I've had to get restraints to keep her from falling when I have to do laundry or cook, etc. It's a very bad situation for me because she rarely lets up. Day care is a blessing in that it stimulates her mind, and gives me a few hours a week to breath! Use your computer to find local aid and start making phone calls to all of them. You may find help for things you hadn't thought of. Also, your local hospital may have a support group that can get you started on where to go for help.
Good luck, you are about to enter a realm like no other. It can be very hard on you, but also very rewarding!

EXCELLENT ADVICE FROM A RECENT ARTICLE CARRIED BY THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION...
The challenges of caring for the person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s may appear in a two-fold manner.
Elena Godfrey, a care navigator at the Rockford office of the Alzheimer’s Association, who works with families on care plans, said, “In the midst of all the care responsibilities that you have, you’re also internally grieving a loss of a relationship and those changes that you are seeing.”
Dunbar said, “You often times have to step back and say, ‘She’s not getting it. She’s not going to get it.’ So you have to figure out another way to get things done.”
According to Godfrey, the initial impulse to drop everything to care for a family member with Alzheimer’s mirrors that of someone responding to a loved one with an acute or temporary, emergency medical condition. However, once the acute condition subsides, the caregiver may recover.
“What we see with a chronic condition, in this case Alzheimer’s disease, is that that type of response is not functional and can cause a lot of problems for the caregiver long term,” Godfrey said.
She explained that caregivers need support and education to learn how to pace themselves when caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease.
>>>>>Alzheimer's Caregivers Are Often Silent Victims
by Elizabeth Brandon, Feb 04, 2010