Assisted Living is NOT your enemy

“We want to keep her out of assisted living as long as possible.” “My brother thinks it’s horrible that we want to move dad.” “I’m exhausted caring for my loved one at home, but moving them just seems cruel.” “She took care of me when I was younger, so now it’s my turn.” “I don’t want to move him to a home.”

I’ve heard all of these phrases time and time again. Occasionally I’ll even get a comment on a post that echoes these same sentiments. I published a post recently, “The one-sentence answer to when it’s time to move someone” and somebody on LinkedIn commented one word, “Never.”

Frustrated, I commented back. “When you say something like that, you make it even more difficult for stressed and exhausted caregivers to make a decision they may need to make. You’re stigmatizing something that is already over-stigmatized.” I didn’t get a response—no surprise there—but it encouraged me to write this post.

Assisted living is not the enemy. Society has beat into us this idea that you “must take care of your person at home forever!” when, for some people, this isn’t feasible, reasonable, responsible, or safe.

Honestly, that’s why I wrote my book. I realized that there were so many people in the same boat: they felt guilty about moving a loved one and didn’t know where to turn for answers. I wanted to write something that not only answered their questions but also made them feel OKAY but making a hard choice.

Don’t let someone tell you what is right for you or your loved ones’ living situation.

Learn from me online by taking one of my classes! Use the code DEMENTIABYDAY for $10 off “Everything You Need To Know About Dementia”

How one woman got her husband to agree to attend adult day care

She knew that she’d have a hard time getting her husband, Ben, into adult day care. Ben loved working, and now that he was retired and had dementia, he still liked to find projects to do. Convincing him that he could benefit from adult day care certainly wasn’t going to work (and doing this with anyone with dementia is not advisable.)

Instead of arguing with him, she spent a couple weeks getting Ben excited about the opportunity. Each morning at breakfast, she’d begin talking about the adult day program, but reframing it. “There’s this new program,” she told him. “They need more people to work there, but it’s really tough to get in.” A couple weeks into repeating this idea, she finally announced to him that she’d gotten good news. “It turns out they have an opening!” she told Ben.

Ben was excited: he’d gotten into this new program. At first, Ben just went a couple days a week. He seemed as though he enjoyed “working” there, but didn’t really want to take on more days.

“Here’s the thing,” she told him. “They love your work and they want you to put in a few more hours…do you think you’re up for the task?” Of course, he was up for the task. Ben was thrilled to be needed like this.

“When will I see my paycheck?” Ben asked his wife. 

“Well, you see, it goes right back into the program, that’s how their non-profit status works,” she explained.

Ben goes to day care every weekday now. Both of them are very happy with how it’s worked out.

By embracing his reality, she was able to make this new arrangement work for both of them.

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Assisted Living is not your enemy

“We want to keep her out of assisted living as long as possible.” “My brother thinks it’s horrible that we want to move dad.” “I’m exhausted caring for my loved one at home, but moving them just seems cruel.” “She took care of me when I was younger, so now it’s my turn.” “I don’t want to move him to a home.”

I’ve heard all of these phrases time and time again. Occasionally I’ll even get a comment on a post that echoes these same sentiments. I published a post recently, “The one-sentence answer to when it’s time to move someone” and somebody on LinkedIn commented one word, “Never.”

Frustrated, I commented back. “When you say something like that, you make it even more difficult for stressed and exhausted caregivers to make a decision they may need to make. You’re stigmatizing something that is already over-stigmatized.” I didn’t get a response—no surprise there—but it encouraged me to write this post.

Assisted living is NOT YOUR ENEMY. Society has beat into us this idea that you “must take care of your person at home forever!!!!” when, for some people, this isn’t feasible, reasonable, responsible, or safe.

Honestly, that’s why I wrote my book. I realized that there were so many people in the same boat: they felt guilty about moving a loved one and didn’t know where to turn for answers. I wanted to write something that not only answered their questions but also made them feel OKAY but making a hard choice.

Don’t let someone tell you what is right for you or your loved ones’ living situation.

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