Like anything new, your senior needs a little bit of time and understanding if she’s going to start accessing adult day care services. Sometimes the fear of trying something new can be far worse than the experience itself. Trying some of these ideas can help you and your elderly family member to get more used to services offered through adult day health care.
Establish Solid Routines
Making time spent at an adult day care center a regular part of your senior’s routine can help with adjusting to having this type of assistance. Taking advantage of services like dietary counseling or memory care ensures that your elderly family member is able to incorporate the help that she needs and wants with other services, too, such as respite time for you as her primary family caregiver.
Explore Services
It’s possible that your senior starts adult day care services for one reason but finds other reasons to visit. Having the opportunity to socialize with other people and engage in activities she enjoys can be a bigger benefit than she might have expected at first. As she gets more comfortable, she may be more open to trying other services, too. And that can make a huge difference in improving her experience.
Ask Your Senior What She Needs
Even if your elderly family member is experiencing memory issues and other challenges, she can still help you to know what she needs. Ask her whether she wants to try certain activities, like nutritional counseling or group exercise classes. Giving her more options helps her to experiment a little more as well and can help you both to find solutions.
Be Patient
Above all it’s really important that you try to stay patient with the process. It takes time to adjust to something that is out of the normal for your senior. When you’re able to maintain your patience, that also helps your elderly family member to do the same. She’s better able to stick with something while it’s still new and a little uncomfortable to get to the point where she does finally start to feel comfortable.
Adjusting to anything new definitely takes a little bit of time, and that’s true for both you and your aging family member. But adult day care services offer some incredible benefits that really help to make both of your lives easier. Adult day care can also seriously improve your senior’s quality of life.
Oxnard Family Circle started phased transition to the center-based services under Department of Public Health and Department of Aging regulations effective 6/1/2021. Oxnard Family Circle offers both services during this transition period: the center-based and the services at the doorsteps.
Considering help for a senior in Ventura County? Learn more about adult day care in Santa Paula, CA. Call us! 1-805-385-4180.
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