What to expect when Mom has Alzheimer's

Discover the signs of early stage Alzheimer's—mild forgetfulness, word-finding challenges, planning and money management difficulties, reading and number tasks, getting lost, stage four dementia—guided by the Global Deterioration Scale.

Start preparing now by facing the diagnosis with head and heart, accepting that Alzheimer's is a terminal brain disease that changes thinking, function, and emotions, as explained in the video.

Recognize how Alzheimer's affects verbal ability, revealing nonverbal communication through behaviors like shadowing; respond with comfort, presence, and actions that address fear, loneliness, boredom, or pain.

Align career choices with a caregiving plan for Alzheimer's; factor in time for appointments, breaks, and potential relocation or travel to support a mom diagnosed early or in good health.

In moderate Alzheimer's, mom shows memory loss, repetition, agitation, hallucinations, sleep changes, weight loss, and personality shifts, with suspicion; preparing and supporting the care partner helps through GDS stages 5–6.

Moderate Alzheimer's makes Mom struggle to find words, so she communicates through actions like shadowing, wandering, exit seeking, sundowning, and repetition, requiring patients to observe and redirect for safety.

Provide care partners with free time, emotional support, and a positive mood to navigate the challenges of moderate Alzheimer's, including memory loss, behavioral changes, and emotional shifts.

Recognize care partners are doing their best for mom with Alzheimer's, feel frustration, inadequacy, shame, despair, and anger, and deserve forgiveness and support.

Care partners gain respite through adult day programs that provide social engagement, memory-stimulating activities, and practical support, while setting realistic expectations that it does not cure Alzheimer's.

Adult children experience anger, sadness, and resistance as Mom's Alzheimer's progresses, a normal grief reshaping the relationship with the care partner and family roles.

Family members learn hands-on techniques for mom's daily care through caregiver education classes, and discuss safe places for mom during sessions, putting everyone on the page for their Alzheimer's journey.

Convene a monthly family care meeting to share information and feelings, and negotiate decisions about mom's living arrangements and end-of-life care, prioritizing family relationships during Alzheimer's.

Discover a research-based approach to recruiting support for mom's care partner by making explicit requests, accepting available help, and communicating its positive impact to helpers.

Learn to support mom with Alzheimer's at medical appointments by coordinating a two-person approach, observe how adult children support and see why dental costs rise when brushing is forgotten.

Share resources compassionately by delivering the right information at the right time in digestible amounts, listing options like adult day programs or memory care homes to support care partners.

As Alzheimer's progresses, mom becomes disoriented and may get lost, increasing care partner loneliness. Lift the care partner's mood with simple supports like greeting cards, photos, meals, and shared visits.

Learn life skills for care partners to cope with moderate stage Alzheimer's by practicing mindfulness-based stress reduction, strengthening mind–body connection, and responding rather than reacting over an eight-week program.

Encourage mom to express herself creatively, including music, writing, crafts, and more, to shift focus from loss to what she can do, boosting identity, connection, self-worth, and mood.

Be mom's advocate in late-stage Alzheimer's by voicing her preferences, monitoring comfort and safety, and coordinating hospital transfers and discharge with the latest things to remember for mom worksheet.

Design care posters for mom with Alzheimer's to visually convey her needs to staff, including toilet, bathing, dressing, and hygiene assistance, using a photo, personal facts, and simple language.