When a person is diagnosed with dementia, an entirely new set of challenges is heaped upon him or her and his or her loved ones. Because of this, it often becomes necessary to move the affected individual into an assisted living center.
However, this, in and of itself, can be a challenge. After all, regardless of who you are, moving can be a scary and overwhelming experience. For someone with dementia, these feelings are typically multiplied.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to make the move a little easier on your dementia-diagnosed loved ones. Here are 7 tips for moving someone with dementia.
Tips for Moving Someone With Dementia
For someone with dementia, moving is a delicate process. However, if you utilize the following 7 tips, you should be able to have a smooth transition.
1. Personalize Your Loved One’s Room
One of the great fears that dementia-diagnosed individuals have when moving is the fear of the unknown. They’re moving into places they’ve never been before and are bound to be apprehensive about what the future holds.
What you need to do is to counteract this fear and apprehension. There are a few ways to do this, but one of the best ways is by personalizing your loved one’s new room. By decorating his or her new room with possessions and knick-knacks that he or she enjoys, you help your loved one to feel at home in a strange, new environment.
If you can, you should set up the room before moving your loved one into it. Doing so will ensure that your loved one encounters an environment which isn’t out of his or her comfort zone.
2. Be Communicative About the Move
As was noted above, the fear of the unknown is one of the biggest fears that dementia-diagnosed loved ones feel during the moving process. Therefore, you must do everything in your power to assure your loved one of what the future holds.
Be extremely communicative during the move, discussing the perks of the new living center, including your loved one in packing and preparing, and generally helping your loved one to feel as comfortable as possible at all times.
Having clear and open communication with your loved one will provide him or her with a feeling of control. This will be much-needed during this process.
3. Have Close Friends and Relatives Present
When moving a dementia-diagnosed individual into , it’s of utmost importance that you surround him or her with close friends and relatives. Having friends and relatives present not only assures the affected individual that he or she is supported, but it also takes his or her mind off of the huge life change that’s occurring.
Friends and relatives are also better-equipped to handle any potential outbursts that the affected individual might have. They can act as his or her representatives, speaking to nurses and facility authorities, and helping to acclimate him or her to the new location.
4. Move in the Afternoon
When moving someone with dementia into a new residence, timing is hugely important. Those with dementia can become easily agitated and confused and should avoid hustle and bustle as much as possible.
In an assisted living facility, the quietest and calmest time is usually during the early afternoon. There isn’t a lot of activity going on, nurses are finished making their daily runs, and there is, in general, a tranquil atmosphere.
Of course, if your loved one feels more comfortable at a different time, you’re well within your rights to make the big move at that time. The point is to make the move when your loved one feels the readiest. Learn more about assisted living facilities now.
5. Prepare Foods That He or She Enjoys
The process of successfully moving a dementia-diagnosed patient into a new building is not completed upon the end of the physical movement. After this is completed, there are psychological hurdles that you must leap.
One of the best ways to acclimate your loved one psychologically is by preparing some foods that he or she enjoys. This will not only help your loved one to feel more at home but to associate comfort and positive feelings with the new residence at which he or she is living.
Before moving your loved one in, ask the new facility if they can prepare a special meal for your loved one. Choose something that he or she typically enjoys, then sit down and have a meal together.
6. Stay Positive
For a dementia patient, moving into a new residence spurs on all sorts of emotions. These emotions run the gamut from fear to confusion to sadness to depression and a variety of others.
As a caretaker, it is your responsibility to accommodate these emotions. How do you do this? By staying positive throughout the entire experience.
Your loved one might yell, complain, and make disparaging remarks. However, you need to do everything in your power to avoid confrontation. Offer solutions to problems, discuss what your loved one is going through emotionally, and be a general bastion of calmness.
7. Keep the Exploration to a Minimum
Upon arrival at your loved one’s new residence, it might be your inclination to start looking around and exploring immediately. While exploring is good, it needs to happen at a calm and measured pace.
First, allow your loved one to settle into his or her new room. Watch some TV, have some conversation, and allow him or her to become familiar with the new location. Then, after your loved one seems to have eased in, you can start walking around and checking out the rest of the facility.
The key is to take it slow. Doing too much at one time can overwhelm a dementia-diagnosed individual.
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And there they are, 7 tips for moving someone with dementia. We hope that they help you and your loved one to make a smooth transition.
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