Supporting Seniors With Mild Cognitive Decline
As people we love get older, we often accept memory lapses as par for the course, but for roughly 1 in 6 seniors, that memory loss is a sign of mild cognitive impairment.
I’ve written before about spotting mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, as well as some of the ways you can help your loved one, like getting legal documents in order. Those big ticket items are important, but so is helping with the smaller details that we often take for granted.
Here’s an example: the mother of one of our team members came to visit her. She told her mom in advance that she would be there to pick her up at the airport, but her mom has mild cognitive impairment, and traveling creates a lot of anxiety for her. She knows that when her mom is on the plane, she’s not going to remember her daughter would pick her up. She’ll start to get anxious about who will pick her up, or if she’ll need to find a taxi.
To help with that, her daughter texted her that she would be there to pick her up, so as soon as she turned on her phone, she would see that message and be reminded of the arrangement.
Ways Mild Cognitive Decline Can Impact Seniors
MCI mainly impacts short-term memory. If you find yourself covering the same topic multiple times in one conversation, that may be a sign that your loved one is having more than a “senior moment.”
Other ways that MCI shows up is in details such as:
Failure to keep up with their calendar and knowing what’s happening each day
Not remembering to take medications
Difficulty keeping up with household tasks
Struggling with passwords and accessing online accounts
Getting lost on the way to familiar places
Insisting things in the house stay exactly as they are and not be moved, changed or cleaned
Tips to Help Deal with Mild Cognitive Decline
Many seniors recognize the challenge with their memory and combat it by writing themselves notes. I’ve gone into many homes that are covered by sticky notes, or reminders on scrap paper everywhere.
That may work for some people, but I’ve found that encouraging them to carry a small notebook in their pocket is a good option. By having a notebook with them at all times, they don’t have to track down where they left the note, or struggle to remember if they happen to be out of the house.
It’s worth noting that this won’t work for everyone, as it can be difficult for people to change their instinctive behaviors. For something like passwords, some people might do better having a small recipe box with alphabetical dividers, so they can find what they need faster.
As I mentioned, when I talked about helping seniors set up a filing system, it’s only useful if they can find it. So while you might be inclined to file their bank account information under “Wells Fargo,” they might be searching through the Bs looking for “bank.”
Other options to help seniors manage the details of their day are:
Creating cheat sheets with regular details
Apps and reminders on a smartphone
Smart speakers, like Alexa
How A Daily Money Manager Can Help
Many seniors with MCI can continue to live independently, but a little support goes a long way. While spouses and family members can often fill the gap, if a senior lives alone, introducing a daily money manager may be helpful.
One of the main ways DMMs support people is to keep up with their finances. We ensure bills are getting paid on time, and that there is enough money in the bank to cover those payments.
We also help with the tasks necessary to keep a home in good working order. Here’s an example: one of my clients knew she needed to have a leak in her roof repaired, but there are a lot of steps required to make that happen. That process includes:
Researching a roofer
Getting an estimate
Choosing the roofer and signing a contract
Scheduling the service
Following through on each part of the process can be difficult for a person with MCI, so having the support of a DMM can help make the process smoother.
If some of these challenges sound familiar, and you think your loved one could use this kind of support, we’d love to talk with you. Please contact us to set up a time to discuss how we could help.