Everyone who is diagnosed with dementia has different needs, and those needs will gradually change over time as the condition progresses.
Some people will be able to live largely independently, whilst others will require some degree of professional home care to ensure they can live happily, comfortably and safely.
Progressive conditions such as dementia will often have distinct stages, starting with barely perceptible changes where little care is needed to the point where round-the-clock residential care is required to continue to live safely.
Preparing early and providing support as soon as your parent, family member or loved one is diagnosed with early-stage dementia is vital to slowing its progression and ensuring that they have the highest possible quality of life.
When you first receive the news that your loved one has dementia, it can be difficult to know where to start with arranging support for them and taking on the role of a care partner.
To make this stage easier, here is a guide to supporting a parent, neighbour, family member, or other loved one with early-stage dementia, from learning what they can struggle with and how to make a home dementia friendly to spotting signs of progression and knowing when care services are needed.
What Is Early-Stage Dementia?
As well as the specific types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia can typically be grouped into three categories:
Unlike the other two categories, where professional care and medical treatments are often required to maintain a high quality of life, the signs of early-stage dementia can often be confused with stress, other illnesses or just a typical sign of ageing.
Dementia is not a normal part of ageing, however, and understanding the potential signs and ensuring that your loved one gets assessed for their needs ensures that they can spend as much time as possible living as independently as possible.
Signs of Early-Stage Dementia
- – Mild short-term memory issues.
- – Difficulties finding the right words or following a conversation.
- – Struggling to make decisions or solve problems.
- – Getting lost in familiar places.
- – Misplacing objects.
- – Slipping and tripping more frequently.
- – Personality changes, particularly feeling more impulsive, irrational or inappropriate.
- – Anxiety and depression.
These symptoms can often overlap with other medical conditions, the side effects of medication or even just particular states of mind. However, as someone close to your parent or loved one, you are likely to notice unusual changes that may be signs that something is not right.
What Does A Loved One With Dementia Need From You?
The first step to becoming a care partner is to know what support your parent or loved one needs from you.
It can be difficult to see the progression of dementia at first, particularly since people often can live and work independently on their own without much issue. Some of the issues they need help with are not always immediately visible, such as budgeting, scheduling or managing a house.
The key is to provide support whilst also encouraging independence. How do you do this? Here are some top tips and questions to ask which can help you provide the most effective support.
Is It Safe For Them To Do A Task?
Generally, you should encourage someone with dementia to perform any tasks they are capable of doing alone, even if it may be beneficial to provide encouragement and supervision.
For example, whilst cooking can be potentially unsafe, unless they are doing something that is posing an immediate threat to themselves or other people, encourage them and help them out if they need assistance in the kitchen.
Which Tasks Cause Unnecessary Stress?
Focus on helping out with the tasks that are the most stressful, taxing and frustrating for your parent.
Everyone has parts of their daily habits that they struggle with more than others, from shopping, cleaning, personal care, budgeting, meal planning or other complex care tasks.
These should take priority if you are uncertain about how to help; if you see your loved one struggling, help with those tasks first and work from there.
Should You Make Positive Assumptions?
A great way to work is to assume that your loved one can do something unless they prove otherwise. Rather than worry about the future progression of dementia, focus on their care needs now, and it may potentially slow down this cause of stress.
Can You Set Up A Signal To Help?
If your loved one is struggling, it is best to start grounding with a phrase or cue that helps you to confirm that they need help without potentially affecting their self-confidence.
Rather than immediately intervening or saying “let me”, ask a question like “is there anything I can do to help” or agree to a secret signal like a nod. This will help them feel safe to ask questions or for you to chime in if they are struggling to recall something.
Can You Talk Out Any Issues?
As is so often the case, the best way to understand and work through any issues is simply to ask about them.
Talk to your loved ones about what they need, what they are struggling with or what leaves them frustrated, then make a plan to help them out.
It may take some time; it can sometimes take time to realise or appreciate that you may need help, but the result is often a closer relationship and a better care and support plan.
Can You Find Ways To Work Together?
Ultimately, a problem shared is a problem halved, so the best way to provide support in the early stages of dementia is to find activities and tasks you can do together, whilst talking about ways you can help them with parts of their day-to-day life that they need support with.
Always ask if you are helping, whether what you are doing is comfortable or enough, and whether you need to focus more or less on certain areas.
In the early stages, they will best understand what they need and what they are struggling with, even if it may not necessarily be connected to dementia at this point.
If there are aspects of care you cannot help with, this could be the point where bringing in professionals becomes necessary.
