Adult Day Care is
an excellent alternative for caregivers who would like to have time
to themselves, or wish to ease the transition to full care for their
loved one.
Adult day care are aimed towards elderly persons who need supervision,
typically persons with a dementing illness such as Alzheimer's Disease.
Day care is much more than a supervised place to send your loved
one. Day Care provides many activities that will allow your loved
one to interact with others. What activities are provided? Games
- Games are great for social interaction and for hand/eye coordination.
It also helps your loved one to identify numbers and colors. Exercise
- Exercise is extremely important. Most Day care centers offers
a daily exercise routine. The center should be able to assist persons
in wheelchairs and alter the exercises to fit your loved one's needs.
Crafts - Crafts not only provide an activity to do, but they also
help improve flexibility, creativity , and they help your loved
one to socialize in a large group. Most importantly, they are fun!
How do I choose the
right center? Research and visit several centers, but before you begin
your search, develop a list of what your loved one's needs are. A
sample list might be: My loved one needs help using the washroom,
my loved one is not very active, my loved one tends to wander when
agitated. Another list might be: My loved one talks a lot, my loved
one is fairly active, my loved does not like to leave my side. Every
situation is different. Once you have a list written, you can begin
your search.
If your loved one is active, but
the day center you called described their center as a "less active
crowd" you may want to continue your search. The idea of a day center
is to allow your loved one to do activities that are enjoyable, not
to limit his capabilities. You can start by asking the day center
what activities they provide. Some day centers are aimed towards persons
who are active, while others are aimed towards persons who are less
active.
