Noticing functional decline

03/03/21 • 8 min

Chealsea here with solutions for seniors podcast.

Before I get started toady I would like to thank Home Helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring solutions for seniors podcast. If you or your loved one lives in the Kankakee or will county area call Home Helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at www.homehelpershomecare.com

This week I’m going to be talking about how to spot functional decline in our aging loved ones. Functional decline is the decrease in physical and/or cognitive functioning and occurs when our aging loved one is unable to engage in activities of daily living. ADL’s or activities of daily living is a term used to collectively describe fundamental skills that are required to independently care for themselves such as eating, bathing and mobility.

After a certain age, some level of decline should be expected year after year. In your forties and fifties, this decline is gradual. It happens slowly, and while it can affect our physical and mental performance, most are still able to live their lives comfortably. But in our sixties and beyond, decline begins to speed up and can become a little more noticeable. Eventually, our aging loved ones can reach a point of functional decline, where care is required for our aging loved one to live comfortably and safely.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to spot functional decline. While decline accelerates in seniors, it still happens gradually enough that functional decline can go unnoticed. As a result, our aging loved ones who require elderly care in some form — either from family caregivers, in-home elderly care professionals, or facility living — end up without the support they need. How to Notice Signs of Functional Decline in Seniors.

To determine whether or not your aging loved one may need elderly care or another senior service, you need to know the signs of functional decline. Keep in mind that functional decline relates to physical and cognitive function, so you need to be aware of the signs of decline for both.

To help prevent this from happening, family members should be making a conscious effort to monitor their aging loved ones and track changes in their functional abilities. How to Notice Signs of Functional Decline in Seniors
One strategy is to take stock of the things your loved one has difficulty with over the course of a typical week or month. You can do this mentally, or you might consider taking private notes. This will allow you to compare how your loved one is functioning now compared to the past. Gradual changes become much more visible if you can compare how well they’re doing now to six months or a year ago.

Should you determine that your loved one is suffering from functional decline, you may wish to explore what extra care they will be needing now and in the future as their function declines. Finding recourse in your loved one’s budget and community can seem overwhelming but I’ll be posting a podcast here soon to help navigate through that.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. I hope this episode has helped you know what signs to watch for in your aging loved ones.

Again, I would like to thank home helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring solutions for senior’s podcast. If you are your loved one are in the Kankakee or will county area call home helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at www.homehelpershomecare.com/kankakee
Join me next week for another episode on a common challenge we face while helping our aging loved ones. Stay safe and well.

Chealsea here with solutions for seniors podcast.

Thank you so much for joining me this week. I hope this episode has helped you know what signs to watch for in your aging loved ones.

Previous Episode

Sharing caregiving with siblings

Hi Chealsea here with solution for seniors podcast.

Before I get started, I want to thank Home Helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring Solutions for senior podcast. If you or your loved ones are in the Kankakee or will county area call home helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at homehelpershomecare.com/Kankakee

On this week’s episode I’m going to be talking how to share caregiving responsibilities with another family member. Weather you share the responsibilities with a grandparent, parent, sibling, cousin or even a family friend its possible. Today for reference I’m going to be talking about sharing the responsibilities with a sibling while helping your aging parents, but you can use this for whatever your current caregiving situation is.

Are you suddenly in a position where your aging parent needs care and you and your siblings are struggling with how to manage caregiving duties? While it can be difficult to figure out a system that will work for your family, once you create a plan that includes everyone, the burden will be lighter for all involved. Getting organized with a schedule will help avoid your aging parent going without any care that they are needing, it will also help avoid any conflict with your siblings. Caring for an aging loved one should not negatively affect any relationships in your life with your parents, siblings or family.

Define the Caregiving Tasks. Let’s face it. There is always going to be one sibling who lives closer or has more free time – or can makes more free time – who will more than likely take the leadership role. That doesn’t mean that person has to do everything all alone. If you don’t stop to figure out what needs to be done, you’ll always be plugging holes. So, first thing, stop and make a list of everything that needs to be done for your parent. You should set up a timeline that you, your siblings and parents should revisit the list of care needs to that you are making sure that all care needs are being met whether big or small.

While you make take some task and your sibling may take other tasks, make sure to have open communication and access to any hired service’s just in case you or your sibling cannot be available.

Choosing Your Caregiver Roles, this is the hard part. Everyone wants to take on the “easy” tasks like booking appointments or managing meal services, but you’ll all need to do some of the dirty work. The good news is many hands equals less work on each person.

There is no right or wrong way to work together for your parent’s care. Do what works best for your family. And remember, you are family. While it can be difficult working together and old rivalries tend to resurface, remind yourself that you are family and are doing this for your loved one. There will come a time when your services will no longer be needed, and your siblings will be the family you have left. I hope this helps you and your siblings make the best caregiving decisions for your aging parents and yourself.

Again, I would like to thank home helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring Solutions for senior’s podcast. If you or your loved one are in the Kankakee or will county area call home helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at www.homehelpershomecare.com/kankakee

Thank you so much for joining me this week. Come back next week to talk about another common challenge we all face while helping an aging loved one. Stay safe and well.

Next Episode

How to be a health advocate for an aging loved one.

Hello, Chealsea here With Solutions for senior’s podcast.

Before I get started today, I would like to thank Home Helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring solutions for seniors podcast. If you or your loved one are in the Kankakee or will county area call home helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at www.homehelpershomecare.com/kankakee

I’ve been talking a lot how to notice decline in your aging loved ones and how to help manage their care with whoever is in their care team. But this week I want to focus on how we can be the best health care advocate for your aging loved ones. If you have an aging parent, it’s normal to be worried about their health. Moreover, if you recently stepped into the role of the caregiver for an aging loved with a health issue, you’ve also become their health advocate–whether you realize it or not. That’s just as an important role as the caregiver. It’s important to take your role for your aging loved one seriously. Here are 5 ways you can be the best health advocate for your aging loved one.

1. Prepare for Appointments

2. Take Notes

3. Keep Everyone on the Same Page

4. Understand All Options

5. Ask For a Full Medication Review Annually

These 5 things can help you be the best advocate you can for your aging loved one. Just talk with your aging loved one and see how they see their care going and what they want. Of course their choices have to be safe for them but as long as they are safe then we need to support them and help make sure that they are getting the care option they want.

I hope this episode helps you on your health care advocate journey with your aging loved one.

Again, I would like to thank home helpers of Bourbonnais for sponsoring solutions for senior’s podcast. If you or your loved one are in the Kankakee or will county area call home helpers at 815-401-5527 for all your home care needs. You can also visit their website at www.homehelpershomecare.com/kankakee

Thank you for joining me this week, join me next week for another common challenge we all face while helping our aging loved one. Stay safe and well.