Vitalia Active Adult Community – North Royalton Discusses How to Have Meaningful Visits With Someone Living With Dementia

Dementia is an umbrella term for loss of memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. When someone is diagnosed with dementia, at least two parts of the brain are dying. Dementia is progressive, chronic, and terminal, which creates many challenges.  Relationships continue to be vital to families, regardless of a dementia diagnosis. At Vitalia Active Adult Community – North Royalton we have some ideas and suggestions to help you have successful visits with your loved ones.

Throughout life, we impact those around us with our presence. When visiting someone with dementia, we can impact how the visit will go with our attitude walking in. It’s always best to walk into a visitation with a smile and remain calm in every circumstance. To make a visit pleasant for someone with dementia, family members can bring some of the resident’s favorite foods or items. My all-time favorite is when the family members bring in furry friends to visit. Whenever we have a friendly dog or cat in our Neighborhood, all of the resident’s benefit.

Depending on the person, certain times are better than others to visit someone with dementia. Getting to know your loved one’s routine is a helpful way to know the best time to visit.

Whenever it’s time to end a visit with someone with dementia, it’s always a good idea to assure them you will be back to see them. Each person is different, but if there was a special way that you had of leaving in the past, keep that up.

We hope this information has given you some fresh tips and ideas for visiting someone living with dementia. Quality connections are essential for the person living with the disease, as well as yourself. If your visit still doesn’t go well, don’t beat yourself up. Every day is a new day. Be patient and you will figure out what works best. Giving your time to someone living with dementia is the best gift possible.