Helpline: Alzheimer's - Strategies Support

As a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer's, you know how challenging it is to cope with his or her behavior swings. You may find someone on ExtendaTouch who may share experiences with you about the different coping strategies for AD.

Here are some strategies for caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease:

Understand that people having AD may not be able to construe verbal and nonverbal communication, which can leave both of you anxious and uneasy.

Try to avoid arguing and instead practice patience, get clues from the person's facial expressions and body language. Alzheimer's communication strategies include being clear, specific, and concise and repeating things in verbal communication.

ExtendaTouch is a free online platform where you can anonymously ask fellow caregivers for ideas about how to communicate with people with Alzheimer's.

If the person with AD is physically healthy, try to keep them active by encouraging them to socialize, travel, and participate in familiar activities. These coping strategies will help both of you have fun and relax.

You can request contact with one of our unpaid family caregivers with similar experiences to discuss how they encourage socializing and physical activities.

Discuss places and people familiar to them to remind them about the past. It will trigger pleasant feelings and memories for both of you. Use videos and pictures of family members and events from the past to encourage reminiscing.

Accept the fact that as the disease progresses, the symptoms and requirements will change. As such, you'll have to keep your strategies flexible. A strategy that worked at one stage may frustrate the patient at another. At this point, you can use ExtendaTouch to connect with caregivers who relate for free help with better care strategies for Alzheimer's.

Supervising and caring for someone with AD for his or her safety must be a priority in your daily routine. Memory loss and judgment problems can expose people with Alzheimer's to dangerous situations. While it can be overwhelming for you as a family caregiver, be sure to supervise the patient, but don't make them feel that they are entirely dependent on you.

If you face difficulties caring for a loved one with AD, ExtendaTouch, provides a free online helpline where you can get support from caregivers with similar experiences.