BETTER UNDERSTANDING DEMEMTIA with Ruth Thomas from EnlivenPlus

A holiday visit makes me think one of my parents has dementia – what now?

Visiting family and whānau is one of the joys of the holiday period, but it might also be the time when you notice mum or dad are not coping quite as well as they used to.

There are unopened letters, bills not paid, an accumulation of mouldy food, dishes building up, clothes not washed and a general clutter that wasn't there before. Mum or dad may be looking a little disheveled and the cat looks decidedly hungry – what's happening?

Gentle conversation

These could be the first outward signs that a person is developing dementia. Your parents may have managed to keep things hidden for a while, but with so many visitors during the holiday period it's too hard for them to cover up what's happening.

A gentle conversation is needed to explore what help they need and where to go for that help. This is a difficult conversation to have and one that I can help you with.

Over the years, I've learned never to tell the person that their view on things is wrong or that 'you would never have done this before you had dementia”.

Support measures

Deep down the person knows there is something amiss and will be scared of being put into care.

Give me a call and we can talk through how to approach the conversation about the changes you're seeing.

The sooner support measures are put in place, the sooner we can start working on improving the quality of life for the person with dementia. Call me for advice.

Ruth Thomas, lead specialist care manager, EnlivenPlus. Phone 07 547 4349.