It’s hard to know when your elderly parents need help. They won’t tell you even if they needed help. Your parents always want to be independent and control their lives in their way. Therefore, they would not want to stress you regarding their medical state. The only way you can know is when your senior experiences some trauma and suffers a stroke which can make you realize that they need assistance.
As the adult child, it might be confusing and stressing to know when your parent needs assistance. But to avoid all that you can start to monitor your parent’s physical and mental abilities to recognize when they begin to show signs of needing help.
Indicators showing the need for help
Incapable of doing their usual activities
They will find it so hard to do the following actions:
- Dressing and grooming
- Walking
- Eating
- Moving from one point to another
- Going to the toilet
- Bathing
Changes in physical appearance
- Weight loss
- Unhygienic
- Having marks all over their bodies indicating they have been falling whenever they move from place to place
- Burns on their skins showing difficulty in cooking
Warning signs
The environment around your parent’s home can help explain that they need assistance:
- The yard is not maintained as it usually is
- The inside of the house is disorganized
- Scratches on the car could show that they are having problems driving
- Dirty curtains
- Pots and pans have burn marks which indicate that they find it hard to cook
- Unopened mail and unpaid bills
Unusual behavior
- Lack of motivation
- Avoiding your phone calls
- Abusive both physically and verbally
Warning signs of cognitive impairment
- Experiencing frequent memory lapses
- Noticeable levels of confusion
- Acting out of emotions rather than reason
- Gets it so hard to do regular tasks
- Misplacing things every time
- Constant loss of direction when walking or driving
- Finds it so hard to speak
- Experiences mood swings
- Wearing the same outfit for a long time without changing them
- Forgets names of familiar people and other things
If you find that your parent is going through some of the above signs, it would be essential to talk to them to know what they need, and help find a caregiver for them.