How Can You Help Your Senior to Feel More Independent?
Choices and Options Help
One of the ways your senior may be feeling less independent is that she may have fewer and fewer choices than ever before. She may accept your help because she needs it, but if she feels left out of the decision-making process, that can leave her feeling as if she’s just in the way. You don’t want to overwhelm your senior, especially if she’s experiencing cognitive issues, but you do need to make sure she has all of the options that are possible.
Keep Her Home as Accessible as Possible
Accessibility and safety are a key component of keeping your senior independent, especially if her goal is to age in place. Keeping her home as free of clutter as possible and ensuring that she’s able to safely navigate her home is vital. There might be small changes you could make, like swapping out doorknobs for levers, but they make an immense difference for your senior. That’s all part of keeping her as independent as possible.
Assistive Devices and Tools Really Are Necessary
Assistive tools get a bad reputation because they might make your senior feel old or they might be awkward to use, but in some situations they’re absolutely necessary. Make some compromises with her about assistive devices and technology. If she’s at least willing to try those devices, make sure she’s using them to their best advantage.
Look for Ways to Avoid Isolation
Isolation can be a massive problem for your senior and might be something that she doesn’t really think about in terms of something that hinders her independence. If your elderly family member isn’t getting out as much as she did or isn’t seeing as many people as usual, try to find out why that’s happening. Determining the cause can help you to find a solution.
As your senior’s needs change the solutions you might offer also change. It’s important to help her to understand that accepting help doesn’t make her less independent. Senior care providers can help her to learn that lesson because they offer just the help that she needs without making her feel overwhelmed.