Caregiver Tips: Can a Communication Board Help Your Elderly Loved One?

Caregiver Tips: Are you finding it more and more difficult to communicate with your elderly loved one?

Maybe they have Alzheimer’s disease and communication has gotten more difficult recently. The communication issues could be a result of stroke, hearing issues, or any other issue. No matter what the issue may be, a communication board might help you and caregivers to better communicate with your elderly loved one. Use these caregiver tips below to give you a better understanding of what a communication board is.

Increasing Adaptability

One of the best ways that a communication board can help you and caregivers to better communicate with your elderly loved one is by increased adaptability. Most elderly people who struggle with communication aren’t able to properly express when they need help with things. For example, many stroke survivors can’t express their inability to do the dishes or brush their hair. If this situation is new to you, you may not realize that your elderly loved one can’t do these things. A communication board will allow your elderly loved one to connect patterns, images, words, and shapes to let you and their caregivers know what they need.

Increasing Comfort for Your Elderly Loved One

It is very important that everything is done to make elderly people as comfortable as possible. If your elderly loved one is struggling, a communication board might be one tool that can help them to be more comfortable. For example, if your elderly loved one is having difficulty swallowing but they can’t express that in words, they may choke if they have no way to communicate this to you or their caregivers. With a communication board, your elderly loved one might be able to put a picture of food and the word pain together. This can show you and their caregivers they experience discomfort or pain when eating. Then, you can do something to make them more comfortable.

Better Memory

Your elderly loved one can boost their memory by using a communication board, as well. You or caregivers can place certain words on the board and have your elderly loved one put the matching picture by it. You can place certain events on the board and have them match the year it happened next to the correct event.

Conclusion

These are just some caregiver tips of the many ways that a communication board can be used by you or caregivers to help your elderly loved one. If you find that communication issues continue, despite using a communication board, be sure to talk to your elderly loved one’s doctor.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Pleasant Hill, CA, contact the friendly staff at Home Care Professionals today.
Call (866)-940-4855

Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/

Andy Howard CEO at HomeCare Professionals

Andy Howard is a Bay Area Native who holds a BA in Political Science (University of Colorado at Boulder, ’97). After college Andy worked in the surging tech industry. His Grandmother however, would suffer a significant decline in health and ultimately needed in-home care. The experience of a loved one depending on outside help to age in place proved to be pivotal for Andy as he left the tech industry in 2002 for an opportunity in the home care world with a large provider. After having success in home care, but being frustrated by corporate constraints Andy founded HomeCare Professionals in 2005. He methodically built the company one client at a time by focusing on hiring quality caregivers to ensure positive outcomes. Currently Andy serves as the CEO of HomeCare Professionals and is also highly active in the non-profit organization California Association of Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) which advocates for a higher standard of in-home care for those who wish to remain living at home in California.

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