As a caregiver, you’re constantly looking for those little signs here and there that let you know what’s going on with your senior’s situation. These are some of the main areas in which you should be looking and what it might look like if your elderly family member is in need of a little more assistance.
Any Changes to How Things Run in Her Home
You’re probably pretty familiar with how your senior’s home runs, whether you’re deeply involved in that process or not. So, if something changes, that will probably stand out to you. For instance, your elderly family member might not be making her bed every morning anymore or she might be letting household tasks pile up. If these are big changes from how she usually did things, that can be a sign of something else going on.
Her Personality and Her Mood
When you start to notice that your senior’s mood or even her personality seems to be changing, that could be a sign to look deeper. Cognitive changes can bring both mood and personality changes with them and if your senior is nervous about her health, she might respond differently than usual. Her emotional health can also help you to determine if she might not be socializing as much as she needs to be.
How She’s Doing Physically
Your elderly family member’s physical well-being involves a lot of different variables like how well she’s eating, how well she’s able to walk, and even whether she’s experiencing side effects from her medications. It’s a good idea to talk to her doctor about what you’re seeing and about what else might be impacting your elderly family member’s health.
Whether She’s Still Driving
Your senior’s ability to drive is something that can tell you a lot about how she’s doing, too. If she’s avoiding driving, there’s likely a very good reason. But sometimes people should no longer be driving and are determined to keep going. It’s really important to get an idea of how well your senior is driving so that you can put some solutions in place for her.
Whether she needs just a little bit of assistance with some of these areas or she needs a lot more help than you realized, senior care providers can be the answer you’re seeking. They can help with a variety of tasks and let you know what they’re seeing that you might have missed.
