The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center put together a great ebook, Alzheimer’s Caregiving Tips: Coping with Agitation and Aggression which you can download here.
We summarized some of the tips on dealing with a senior that becomes agitated or aggressive in respect to having Alzheimer’s but it is helpful for those who don’t have the disease as well.
The first point it mentions is to find out what causes them to become upset and try to rectify it before it starts the next time around. Some possible reasons are pain, depression, little sleep, constipation, soiled clothing, a sudden change, interaction with medicine, etc.
Tips to Help Them When Caregiving
Listed below are some of the suggestions to do which may them while agitated or prevent it from happening:
- Speak calmly, listen to them and reassure them that you understand their frustrations.
- Give them some space and control over their life, as long as it is safe for them.
- Stick to the same routine every day. Senior’s tend to have trouble with changes.
- Schedule quiet time and activities into the day to keep them active.
- Display well-loved object and photographs near them so they feel secure.
- Gentle touching and activities like soothing music, reading or walks may help.
- Reduce noise, clutter and amount of people in a room.
- Distract them with a snack, object or activity to keep their mind off the negative.
- Limit the amount of caffeine, sugar and unhealthy food.
We at Family Bridges know that it can be a large daily task making seniors comfortable during times when the can be most irritated in their life. Given the daily tasks with work and their own family, many people use our trusted, in-home caregiver agency to help. Please give us a call for a free consultation by calling or contacting us here.