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Can You Tell How Your Senior Is Really Doing?

One of the things which is important to do periodically as a caregiver is to do the best you can to get an accurate picture of how your elderly family member is faring. You can ask, but there are other ways to verify the answers.

What’s Happening in Your Senior’s Environment?

Your elderly family member’s environment is a good place to start looking at how she’s really doing right now. Does her home look how it normally does? For instance, she might have always kept her home picked up and neat, but maybe now there are piles building up. That’s a change and there is likely a reason for that change, but you may need to dig a little deeper to find it.

Get a Little Nosy, Too

There’s noticing the surface-level stuff that is going on with your senior, but there’s also digging some more and frankly getting a little bit nosy. Open the fridge or a cabinet. What’s there? Does the cabinet rain objects or does it have what you expect inside? When you look in the fridge or the pantry, pay attention to what it appears your senior is eating. Her diet is a huge support for her, and if she’s eating foods that might not be as supportive for her, that can point to a problem that needs a little more attention.

Pay Close Attention to What’s Really Happening with Your Senior

But it isn’t just your senior’s environment that shows you more about what’s going on with her. Her physical appearance can also have a lot of clues for you. Just as with her home, your senior might be looking different lately if she’s having a tough time managing certain tasks. Does she appear to be wearing different types of clothing than usual? Or is her appearance different in other ways? Those clues can be really helpful.

Look at How She’s Socializing and Interacting

Another aspect of your elderly family member’s overall well-being is how she’s interacting with other people. This includes her interactions with you as well as with other people. If she’s having a tough time communicating or if she’s isolating herself, these details can help you to spot possible issues that you may be able to do more about than you realize.

If you’re just not sure what you’re seeing or what help your elderly family member really needs, it can help to hire home care providers. They can help you to put together some of what you’re seeing and understand where your elderly family member needs more assistance.