Chelsea recently had the privilege of working with a son requiring a change for his dad.
Often times when we’re helping a family, these family members have been following their parents and needs for some time. This unfortunately was a different situation and as wonderful as my client's son was, he recently stepped into this role in decision making for his dad. Which can be very overwhelming. My client had already made the move to an assisted living and memory care community however his dementia was requiring more care than his community could provide. Not always do we see our clients with dementia experience agitation or aggression however it sometimes happens and there are certain settings that may fit better for these situations. As a family member this can feel confusing and hopeless when seeking a community that will assist after a situation has occurred.
In my almost 10 years of case management experience I have learned that often times these behaviors can be contributed to overstimulation or improper setting. Our Cognitive impaired clientele need patience, kindness and also a skill set to Deescalate situations when agitation arises. Although all communities that service memory care are trained in de-escalating, sometimes a simple change such as a smaller environment is all it takes to decrease the overstimulation. After looking for a couple weeks and calling several places to get my client closer to his son, we finally were able to find a smaller memory care (residential home) that allowed my client to still be active without being overwhelmed in the setting that he calls home.
The son and I worked very close together as I educated him on the differences between the many options for memory care. My client has not had any behaviors or agitation in his new care setting and has even made many new friends! I thank my client's son for all the passion and hard work he put into learning the process, stepping up into his new role and also trusting me with this change in their lives.
