Day care is definitely the best thing I have done for my mom and ME. Mom goes 5 days a week from 10 until 4. When she started the program two years ago it was a couple of half days a week. Without the center's loving attentive staff to keep mom engaged is so many different activities I believe her decline would be more rapid. Without them I would not be able to do this. And I use therapeutic lying most days to get mom to go. But once there she usually has a wonderful time, even though she cannot remember what she did.
"Caregivers who use adult day care services to help them look after a loved one with dementia may experience less stress than those who forgo this important resource."
Duh, really? LOL I'm glad they came up with a way to document this. Adult Day Care for dementia is definitely a sanity-saver for caregivers. I believe that it is also good for the participants, but even if it is only neutral for them, it is worth it for the caregivers.
If you are going to use it a few days a week, try to pick the days with activities your loved one likes best. For my husband it included Mondays because the nurse read a chapter from a book that day, and he really liked to be read to.
His center had a separate section for those with dementia. He was with the "regular" program until his cognitive problems became more pronounced. Eventually his needs exceeded what they could provide. But for the three years we used it, day care was a godsend!
Adult Daycare in my community is keeping me sane! My 90 year old husband would be sleeping his life away without it. He has moderately severe dementia, but is a generally happy person and enjoys being with others. He goes MWF from 9:30 to 4:30. There are about 25 others there - many are Spanish speaking, but all get along well. Great staff, all CNA's with additional Alzheimer's training. Ratio is 1 to 6. We need MANY more of these facilities! I tried an assisted living facility, but he needed more direct supervision than was offered and wasn't really so far gone that he needed a memory care facility. The rates are $50/day for 3 or more days, $60/day for 1 or 2 days. They are open from 8:30 to 5 and serve breakfast, lunch and a snack.
I wish I lived in a place with so many resources. We have one adult daycare and it does not cater to anyone with dementia. They expect that the person would be able to interact with others - which means being able to converse.
My husband is 65, physically very fit, and has had dementia for several years. I've visited adult day centers, hoping against hope that I could find one that didn't cater to frail elderly with a preponderance of women and activities tailored for such a population (and, yes, some centers treat older adults like pre-school children, at least in their presentation of activities). My husband needs lots of physical activity to work off his excess energy, has lost most of his nouns so "reminiscence" and other memory-stimulating exercises frustrate him, and likes spending time with men. We belong to a group called The Memory Care Café (started in the Netherlands), which consists of those with dementia and their caregivers (so equal numbers of men and women), and he likes going to various places, e.g. Irish Cultural Center to listen to music, although he doesn't participate in the conversation over coffee afterwards. However, his mood and ability to communicate improve after these get-togethers. I've tried a high-energy in-home caretaker, but he only tolerated her for two mornings before refusing to have anything more to do with her. My DHEA-S levels must be at rock bottom. I don't get sick (can't allow myself to) and, although I try to put into practice all of the ways to keep my husband well and happy recommended in the many dozens of books and articles I've read, I find myself getting cranky oftener and at unexpected times and then feeling guilty as well as having to cope with the difficult behavior that this engenders in my husband. We live in San Francisco, which offers a lot of services for the frail elderly, but younger early-onset men are underserved. Please don't suggest that I start my own adult day center; between house maintenance, financial planning and administration, the increasing number of daily chores, and trying to stay in touch with friends who help me to de-stress, I don't have time to take on another project.
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Adult Day Care Guards Against Caregiver Stress
Duh, really? LOL I'm glad they came up with a way to document this. Adult Day Care for dementia is definitely a sanity-saver for caregivers. I believe that it is also good for the participants, but even if it is only neutral for them, it is worth it for the caregivers.
If you are going to use it a few days a week, try to pick the days with activities your loved one likes best. For my husband it included Mondays because the nurse read a chapter from a book that day, and he really liked to be read to.
His center had a separate section for those with dementia. He was with the "regular" program until his cognitive problems became more pronounced. Eventually his needs exceeded what they could provide. But for the three years we used it, day care was a godsend!