Posts Tagged ‘Taking’

Taking The Keys Away From An Elderly Driver

by bobcrabtree1 Posted: Friday, 1/15/2010

More and more adult children each year are facing the heart rending decision of taking the car keys away from elderly parents whose driving behavior has become a danger to themselves and others. This isn’t an easy decision to make because it represents the older driver’s sense of independence and dignity. For anyone facing this choice, there are some valuable tools to help you with your decision.

There is no set age at which a driver is no longer able to drive; some drivers maintain their vision, reflexes and physical abilities well into their 80s and 90s while others, due to diseases such as heart disease or diabetes may face the decision of giving up their license in their 50s. The data shows that older people, due to their fragility and health issues stand a greater chance of becoming a fatality in a traffic collision but the good news, from an Insurance Institute for Highway (IIHS) study released in December, shows that the death rate for older drivers declined steadily between 1997 and 2006 compared to drivers in other age groups. There is no definitive data showing why the death rate for older drivers has declined but it is felt that older drivers are “self limiting” their driving by no longer driving at night, making shorter trips and avoiding interstates. There is also a feeling that more drivers are surrendering their license on their own when they can no longer pass the vision test or they come to the conclusion on their own that they no longer possess the ability to drive safely.

For those that refuse to surrender their license, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) provides the following warning signs:

Feeling uncomfortable and nervous or fearful while driving
Dents and scrapes on the car or on fences, mailboxes, garage doors, curbs etc.
Difficulty staying in the lane of travel
Getting lost
Trouble paying attention to signals, road signs and pavement markings
Slower response to unexpected situations
Medical conditions or medications that may be affecting the ability to handle the car safely
Frequent “close calls” (i.e. almost crashing)
Trouble judging gaps in traffics at intersections and on highway entrance/exit ramps
Other drivers honking at you and instances when you are angry at other drivers
Friends or relatives not wanting to drive with you
Difficulty seeing the sides of the road when looking straight ahead
Easily distracted or having a hard time concentrating while driving
Having a hard time turning around to check over your shoulder while backing up or changing lanes
Frequent traffic tickets or “warnings” by traffic or law enforcement officers in the last year or two

The child, relative or caregiver concerned about the safety of an older driver should follow these steps:

Start a dialogue with the older driver expressing your concerns
Suggest that the driver limit their driving to avoid night driving or long trips.
Review any medications or medical issues that could diminish the driver’s reflexes and vision or stress causing issues that could affect their driving behavior.
Travel along with the older driver and either videotape or keep notes of missed signs, near misses, confusion etc. Unless you need to intervene to prevent a collision, don’t comment during the drive; it will only make the driver more nervous. Review your findings after the trip.
Consult with the driver?s doctors to see if any medical issues may limit the driver’s abilities to drive safely.
Hold an intervention with family members and concerned friends to try to convince the driver to voluntarily stop driving.
If all else fails and you feel the situation is too dangerous, take the keys and remove the car.

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Taking Care Of Elderly Relatives – It Is A Pain Only When You Think It Is!

by bobcrabtree1 Posted: Friday, 1/1/2010

All of us have experienced our children throwing a tantrum while out on a shopping or in public. Even if the parent tries to calm the situation down, in most cases it only worsens it. Parents, as a result, feel embarrassed and you can only sympathize with them. A parent?s emotion is a mixed bag as they would not only feel sorry about it but also call the child everything from moody to spoilt. However, the role of caretaker is no different. This sometimes can be more embarrassing and humiliating than a parent-child drama.

If you get used to your job of taking care of an elderly relative or any elderly person for that matter, the whole issue of tantrums can become a part and parcel of your job. If you aren?t accustomed to this sort of a situation, it might be difficult to cope up with. If it happens to be your relative, you have no choice but to cope up with all the tantrums they show up on you. It doesn?t matter how difficult it might turn out to be, you will be left with no choices. There are ways to cope up with these predicaments too.

Firstly, it would be nice on your part to research on the source of tantrum rather than telling them how humiliating their behavior is. You have to get a little more relaxed about the whole situation and try to understand it better. What the elderly relative is feeling might not even be close to what your frustration is all about. If you multiply yours by ten, it still wouldn?t reach the figure of the amount of frustration the elder is going through. Try to imagine yourself being stuck somewhere in your body and having thoughts recurring at the same point preventing from thinking straight. You will end up reacting in the same way as your relative and thus concluding how tough it is.

But all this can help you cope up with the pressure-cooker kind of a situation only to some extent. The unreasonable behavior of these people will provoke more potent feelings in you when it is directed at you in a different manner. There will be no scope for reasoning if this high voltage situation gets personal. You will have to raise your bar and cope up with it. Take breaks from the individual you are taking care of, just for a few moments might help you greatly. If you wish to ignore the behavior you believe is affecting you, then this might even work out for a long time. It can help you have time to gather your thoughts back.

In most cases, the unreasonable and intolerable behavior lasts for only sometime. It is fact that, we have got to accept, even elderly people can suffer from mental illness and are liable to go through phases just like children do. You will have to fight your way through whatever the case maybe. Since every person is unique, there is no certain definitive way to solve this problem. Listening to music r probably taking a small walk can calm the situation down. You will see yourself building some resistance to this and all of a sudden you will start to have the tolerance and patience to cope up with the elder.

As time would fly, you will be experienced enough to spot the tantrums from the subject concerned and simply ignore it when it comes to you. All this will not happen overnight but eventually. You have the upper hand then since you would have figured out what works best for you. Think of the elderly relative as a child, if it helps. In fact, it is what they are as treating a child is no rocket science compared to dealing with the adult. If you possess the right temperament the situation can be dealt with ease.

Abhishek successfully runs an Old Age Home and he has got some great Eldercare Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 80 Pages Ebook, “How To Take Great Care Of Elders” from his website http://www.Senior-Guides.com/560/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.

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Caregivers Taking A Break – Making Alternate Arrangements While You Go On Vacation!

by bobcrabtree1 Posted: Wednesday, 12/23/2009

Caring for the elderly family member is a enormous responsibility that few people are willing to accept. The role of a caregiver is one of sacrifice in terms of their own health, family and work. When a person accepts the role of the primary caregiver to the ageing parents, he or she has no idea how long the commitment will last. It could be weeks, months or years and in that time, you as the caregiver will be mentally worn out within just a few weeks of beginning your role as the primary caregiver.

The task of the caregiver is all consuming and it will take over the control of your life very quickly, this is unavoidable. You may find it difficult to cope with the daily stress and will want to take a break very often. Either you can go away for a few days or take a break at your own home. Just like a fulltime job, this also needs recharging of your batteries.

Before thinking of respite for yourself, you have to make arrangements for the elderly in your care. Some options are available for such an eventuality. The first alternative is respite placements in a retirement home. Many retirement homes have rooms for only respite cases, so that the family members can take some rest. Before reserving a place, you can verify the home in question, by visiting the place. All the local authority offices will have details regarding such places or you can read up on the Internet.

You can opt for the home help or home care services, for the time of your absence. Home help pays visits to the elderly 3 times a day for about an hour, for washing .dressing and feeding the elderly. They do not remain with the elders throughout the day. Home care provides assistance for a longer time, but the attendant does not stay with the elderly round the clock. This may not be a good option for elders requiring constant care.

Another option is to get a family member to help out with the eldercare for the few days you will be away. This might prove to be the best choice because your mind is at ease with a familiar person looking after your elderly parent. The relatives are easily reachable at a moment’s notice, to ensure proper communication. However, there must be a volunteer for this job.

Depending on your financial status, you can combine two or more options, although money is not a concern where an elders well being is involved. You must take a break as often as possible for your own health and mental peace. As a primary caregiver, you owe it to yourself and your family to take a break from the task of eldercare.

Abhishek successfully runs an Old Age Home and he has got some great Eldercare Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 80 Pages Ebook, “How To Take Great Care Of Elders” from his website http://www.Senior-Guides.com/560/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.

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Taking Good Care of Working Caregivers is Taking Good Care of Business

by bobcrabtree1 Posted: Tuesday, 12/15/2009

With the first of the baby boomer generation turning 60, the “silver tsunami” is upon us and working caregivers are being faced with the added responsibility of caring for aging parents or other loved ones. What was once referred to as the “sandwich generation”, is now becoming the “club sandwich generation.” Caregivers today, ages 35-55, are sandwiched between caring for their own families, and assuming the responsibility of caring for aging parents and, in many cases, grandparents or even aunts and uncles.

Balancing all the responsibility has truly become a juggling act. Attending a child’s final soccer game versus taking an elderly loved one to a medical appointment has become a stressful decision that tugs at the hearts of caregivers. Coupled with working full time, the reality of the days growing longer as the nights grow shorter becomes increasingly evident.

Although statistics show the burden of care giving still falls on the woman of the household, the number of men in this role is increasing steadily with a 60/40 ratio of female/male caregivers.

The role of assisting an elderly loved one is not a one-time event. It is ongoing and constantly changing as medical, social and financial needs evolve. This added responsibility compounds the stressors of daily life and in many cases a resulting negative change occurs in the complexion of the family. Often, family members are overwhelmed by guilt, confusion and fear, because they made a promise to take care of their parents and many feel the responsibility to provide elder care themselves.

In addition, today’s slumping real estate market further exacerbates the need for informal caregivers, as many elderly are forced to remain in their homes. Then suddenly, a health crisis arises and the family is faced with making arrangements without full knowledge of what elder care options are available. Searching for appropriate care and/or services is often a confusing and daunting task. Not knowing which options would be most appropriate for one’s individual situation makes it more complicated and frustrating. Furthermore, the “maze” of elder care options available on the internet can often lead to more confusion.

In light of the aging workforce, coupled with a decrease in the available workers needed to replace them, more and more forward thinking employers are offering elder care services to help their workers manage this growing issue. Elder care as a workplace issue is now at the stage where childcare was 20 to 30 years ago. If elder care follows the same trajectory that childcare issues took, employers could find themselves radically restructuring employment benefits policies to accommodate this social change. It is estimated that elder care issues cost the national economy $34 billion annually and this cost is expected to increase at a staggering pace. Realizing the impact that elder care giving responsibilities has on their employees, some forward thinking employers have made elder care services available to their employees as a benefit. Providing greater access and utilization of the right kind of information allows an employee to balance their commitments to career and family while maximizing productivity and enhancing the employee’s quality of life.

With elder care giving expected to reach major proportions in the next 10 to 15 years, more employers must start laying the groundwork to ensure that they are taking good care of their business by taking good care of their employees and providing workers with the resources to address elder care needs.

Ms. Files is a nationally recognized ?subject matter expert? on the knowledge and skills needed for working with the elderly. She has over 28 years in the healthcare industry, with 16 years focused primarily on eldercare. Her background includes program development for many leading providers in the senior living industry. Rita is a LPN and holds both state and national certifications in Assisted Living Administration and is a Certified Senior Advisor

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