Which Senior Living Type Is Best for Someone Living With Early-Stage Dementia?
When your loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, there are many emotions to sort through all while making future plans perhaps more quickly than your family had anticipated. Thanks to more awareness, seniors are getting diagnosed earlier on in the disease process, allowing them to be more active in advocating for their preferences and plans.
However, that early diagnosis can also lead to confusion about which type of senior living would be safest and most supportive. Many adults living with early-stage dementia can feel like they are in between senior living options, feeling too cognitively aware for memory care and too overwhelmed or overstimulated in an independent living setting.
Amongst the many senior living options available, we take a look at which senior living type is best for someone living with early-stage dementia.
Consider Assisted Living
While memory care communities are designed especially to combat the challenges that come with dementia, they are often geared toward those living in the mid and late-stage of the disease. This can mean that they are not ideal for someone living in the earlier stage of dementia, as the resident can end up feeling depressed, unstimulated, and out of place.
Assisted living, however, can be an excellent senior living option for someone living in the early stages of cognitive decline. Not only does assisted living provide personalized support with activities of daily living, but services also include healthy meals three times daily, housekeeping, and social activities. For someone living with early-stage dementia, instrumental activities of daily living — like meal preparation, social engagement, and household chores — become challenging to plan and complete. Assisted living offers an environment that already provides this support.
In addition, assisted living is staffed around the clock with trained caregivers. These professionals are there to notice and report any changes in behavior or health so that nurses can follow up immediately, perhaps reducing the need for emergency care or decreasing the length of illness. For someone living with early-stage dementia, having this additional set of eyes on them can feel like a relief as they know someone is always watching out for their health.
Transitioning to Memory Care
Finally, as dementia progresses, your loved one will eventually find a memory care environment to be the next best step for their mental, emotional, and physical health. You will work closely with the assisted living team to ensure the transition goes as smoothly as possible, especially if you are moving your loved one within the same larger senior living community.
If your loved one was recently diagnosed with dementia, consider making assisted living tours a priority so that you have a plan in place to move them to a place they love that will support them throughout the early stages of the disease.