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Holidays often are a time of great joy and celebration, but sometimes they can be difficult for people who have developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest is partnering with Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama to help people prepare for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
Dr. Renee Harmon, an author, is scheduled to give tips on handling the holidays with Alzheimer’s thrown in the mix at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14 in the library’s community room.
A person living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia may feel a special sense of loss during the holidays because of the changes he or she has experienced, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Here are some basic tips shared by the association to help people safely enjoy time with family and friends during the holidays:
- Adjust expectations. Communicate realistic expectations about what you or a loved one with Alzheimer’s can and cannot do. This may mean giving up a long-held role, such as making the turkey and dressing or that favorite dessert, which can be difficult. Think of it as a chance to start a new tradition.
- Have conversations with family members and friends in advance to let them know about any changes they might see in the person living with dementia.
- Remember that some people with Alzheimer’s become confused or agitated in the evenings and consider celebrating earlier in the day to work around this.
- If you can’t visit in person, connect through technology like video call software. Use video to capture and digitally send special moments, such as children opening gifts. Plan a video call to cook or bake a special recipe together, or schedule a time to watch a favorite holiday movie together from separate homes.
- Remember that cross talk or simultaneous conversations can be challenging for people living with dementia or people with hearing impairments.
- Make sure friends and family understand that changes in behavior and memory are caused by the disease and not the person. People can help with communication by being patient, not interrupting or correcting, and giving the person time to finish his or her thoughts.
- Involve the person living with dention in safe, manageable holiday preparation activities that he or she enjoys. Ask him or her to help prepare food, wrap packages, help decorate or set the table.
- Avoid using candles, artificial fruits and vegetables as decorations and realize that blinking lights can be confusing.
- Focus on things that bring happiness and let go of activities that seem overwhelming, stressful or too risky. Taking on too many tasks can wear on both the person with Alzheimer’s and caregivers.
- Advise people not to give gifts such as dangerous tools or instruments, utensils, challenging board games, complicated electronic equipment or pets.
- Depending on his or her abilities, involve the person with dementia in gift giving. Someone who once enjoyed baking may enjoy helping make cookies and packing them in tin boxes as gifts, or you may want to buy gifts for others and let the person wrap them.
- Protect the health of the person with Alzheimer’s. Stay home if you are not feeling well and visit through a video call instead. If the person lives in an assisted living community, be sure to check visitation policies.
Thursday’s gathering at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest also will include a candlelight service.
For more resources about Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association website.
