Senior Move Management Series: Easing the Transition When Dementia Confuses the Issue

Senior Move Management Series: Easing the Transition When Dementia Confuses the Issue

It's morning. You stumble out of bed, go to the kitchen and start making coffee. Your hands go on auto pilot as you reach for the coffee and filter, the water to fill the coffeemaker well, the cups to pour out that steaming wake up call. Now imagine that you wake up and the space is different, and you suddenly can't find anything. Nothing is familiar, this isn't home, and you start to panic.

Sounds like the plot for a bad movie, but it can be reality for someone suffering from dementia. The move to a new home is probably necessary for the safety and well-being of the client, but the confusion of a new home can lead to panic and an inability to adjust to the new surroundings.
When assisting with the move of someone with slight dementia or early Alzheimer's, Senior Move Managers ease the transition by ensuring that the new home is as familiar in layout as is possible. By documenting the existing home space, through detailed floor plans and photos, we are able to re-create a similar feeling and plan for the new home.       

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ardee4/3243293968/      

               
Family photos, tactile reminders such as familiar throw blankets and cushions, and objects in the same orientation in rooms all help make the client more comfortable immediately upon their move into the new space.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sskennel/4814495567/

Above all, Senior Move Managers take very seriously their responsibility to their client, who is the person being moved. We take care to address questions directly to them, not talking about them with other family members in their presence. To aid their memory, we document their decisions about belongings they will not be taking with them. And we help their families deal with the many decisions necessary for a smooth transition to a new home.

Ease the transition for your older loved with the help of a Senior Move Manager.

Senior Move Management Series: Easing the Transition When Dementia Confuses the Issue