To work with older adults (geriatric population) is a privilege. The wisdom and perspective of the elderly as well as the loving families attempting to provide for them, needs to be balanced. To negotiate this terrain it is better facilitated when a concerned third party is involved. They can provide expertise, evaluate the better outcomes for all involved, and to have a perspective that encompasses both parties.
The greatest challenge is the spectrum of needs of an aging person and their family. This will appear different in each case. As an example a 65 something cognitively intact, physically healthy individual, will differ enormously from a 90 year old, cognitively impaired, physically frail individual. Another dynamic is if the elderly person lives at home with a family caregiver versus someone living in a nursing home or assisted living facility. There will also be unique situations, strengths, and challenges of each individual to be taken into consideration when making decisions about their future.
Some concerns may be the following:
- ADL (activities of living) deficits
- Aggression/Hostility
- Anxiety
- Caregiver distress
- Communication Deficits
- Decisional Incapacity Unresolved
- Depression
- Grief/Loss Unresolved
- Interpersonal conflict
- Life Role Transition
- Loneliness/Interpersonal Deficits
- Mania/Hypomania
- Medical/Medication Issues Unresolved
- Memory Impairment
- Nutritional Deficits Unresolved
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Paranoid Ideation
- Phobia/Panic/Agoraphobia
- Physical/Sexual/Financial Abuse
- Residential Issues Unresolved
- Sexually Inappropriate/Disinhibited Behavior
- Sleep Disturbance
- Somatization
- Spiritual Confusion
- Substance Dependence/Misuse
- Suicidal Ideation/Behavior
- Wandering/Way-Finding Deficit
If your loved one is experiencing any of the above factors please call 262-375-9225.