When helping my parents through the aging process, my sisters and I had a difficult time ciphering through all the information on the Internet. And that was 6 years ago, so I can imagine how difficult it must be today… with all the information that is at your fingertips!

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• Everyone loves the Internet! (shannonturlington.com)

I would like to find out from a few family caregivers who read our posts.. how do you keep up with all this handy information and how do you know which are reliable and have solutions that meet your aging relative’s need? Our caregiving world has changed.. as you can see this tool that I’m using helps me “brighten” up my posts.. making it more meaningful to you and hopefully, becoming an enlightened resource that will help you, the family caregiver, as you wander through the elder care puzzle.

Some considerations when doing your research on helping Mom and Dad at home for services. Since I lived at a distance from my parents, it was difficult to interview, visit the potential provider, and contact their referrals. Here are a few tactics my family used to get the best services for our parents:

1. Made a list of what Mom and Dad were having trouble doing at home

2. Talked with them on how best we can help them get these done - usually it was, “well, Carol, you could just drive here on the weekends to help us.. you know we want to see you more.”

3. Before going home for the weekend or for a day or two; I completed my search online of all local resources with phone numbers, addresses, contact names, and email address

4. Before presenting to my Mom and Dad, I personally made contact with each of them and an appointment.. preferably at their location first.

5. At home (my parent’s) together we’d look through the list and made a priority of which services we needed first and foremost.

6. I personally visited the “provider’s facility” and talked with a few of their current clients.

7. My parents and I selected one from the list - their first priority and hired one that I felt most comfortable with - after Mom and Dad had an opportunity to visit with them and tried them out on a contingency basis.

8. From my home in Austin, I continued to stay in touch with the provider.. initially receiving daily updates until I felt reassured that Mom and Dad were okay accepting their help.

Tell me how you handle your Mom and Dad’s care - at a distance or from across the street.. other families will learn from your experience.

Today was my first day of training. CogniFit first assessed my brain fitness that you can read here on Brain Fitness Assessment Part 1 and Brain Fitness Assessment Part 2.

After the assessment, you start the training - and today was on Match the Time, Name the Picture and Simon Says.. the three tests that I completed today are on Time Estimation, Naming, and Divided Attention. As you know the assessment showed high results in Time Estimation and Naming but Divided Attention.. well, let’s just say I was WAY below normal..

The good news… my training results showed that the Divided Attention was elevated.. resulting in very good results after the training. Nice.

What i like about CogniFit - it’s online and provides a variety of activities which keep my brain challenged. The differences between CogniFit and doing activities like crossword puzzles - the latter becomes routine and the brain is no longer getting the stimulation that is required and benefits can gradually decline. Therefore an effective brain fitness program will constantly monitor your performance and adapt to optimize the challenge.

Another good news… I fail miserably in the skill of “focus”.. well, this is not something I don’t know.. I DO know that one. What is so exciting to me.. hopefully, CogniFit will help me learn to improve that skill.

My overall cognitive rating is Above Normal when comparing me to other old farts like me!

Here are the skills that I excel in:

Memory

Motor

Perception

Need help with:

Attention!!! Shifting and Divided Attention!

Okay, I am ready to take on attention.. follow me along as I improve to NORMAL on these two skills… especially divided attention… that is what I need help with most! I am out to prove to myself that I am not ADHD.

Thank you for following me along.

Get brain fit with Carebuzz!  This is an exciting time. Carebuzz will begin to sell top quality products and services that help aging seniors stay home safely and remain independent and productive.

Our first partner is CogniFit, a brain fitness and training company offering online programs, like Personal Coach and Senior Driver. CogniFit invited me to personally use the product so that I can have a first hand experience of their programs. Great idea! I jumped on this opportunity.. what could it hurt? During my assessment, I thought.. why not share these results with my blog readers! You can follow along as my brain (hopefully) improves over time! And then you could make the decision or assess if this is something that might help you or your aging relative.

I do know how important it is to say fit. I exercise regularly (5 times weekly) and now that I am 58, it is important for me to exercise my brain too! So, here we go:

Personal Coach Program Benefits

Improve your well being and slow down cognitive decline (now who would resist this?)
* Improve your memory
* Think faster, stay sharp and focused
* Absorb more data and process it faster

January 21, 2010 - Personal Coach Assessment Test Results (part I)

drum roll please… actually I am very pleased.. well, almost…

CogniFit tests the following areas: (and more will be added later, so return often to read my progress)

Time Estimation - ability to estimate the duration of an event without the assistance of timers - My Result: Excellent

Awareness - ability to evaluate cognitive functioning, realization, perception or knowledge - My Result: Excellent

Response Time - ability to perceive a simple stimulus and respond to it - My Result: Excellent

Naming - ability to recall and retrieve a word - My Result: Higher than Normal

Working Memory - the span of information that can be manipulated while performing a task - My Result: Higher than Normal

Eye-hand coordination - degree to which the hand and eye are synchronized - My Result: Higher than Normal

Spatial Perception - ability to perceive how things are arranged in space and investigate their relation to the environment - My Result: Higher than Normal

Shifting - ability to redirect your attention from one channel of information to another - My Result: Below Normal (hey, we can’t be perfect)

I will report back to you on January 24 for part 2 assessment.

I plan to start the Senior Driver’s Program in a couple of days… I hope they don’t take the keys!

When reaching buyers of senior care products, a strong online presence is of high importance. In a recent article published by Entrepreneur.com, writer Mark Willaman outlines the importance of providing online content that clearly states who the company is and that addresses their unique selling points. However, traditional marketing tactics, such as print advertisements, sponsorships, or trade show exhibitions, are still crucial methods when attracting the senior care market.

Research illustrates how these marketing approaches are still useful when targeting seniors, as well as online sources such as webinars, search marketing campaigns, white papers, and byline articles. Yet, acquiring a strong online presence proves to be more effective when reaching the elder care market. Not only does the Web provide customer with product information and services, but gives the opportunity for the company to position its culture, standards, and expertise.

Carebuzz delivers online marketing services to the providers of the in home care industry. For more information send an email to Carol Marak, Founder - carol@carebuzz.com.

Source: Entreprenur.com

The past few weeks have been filled with planning, building strategy, and revising the business plan. Well, we are still working on the business plan even after 2 months! Does it ever end? I hear promises that it can end.

As for fulfilling our goals - here’s a couple of items that I use to help me achieve my dreams and wishes, and goals:

1. Write out your goals - for me it was easier (not easy) for me to write out my business plan and list out our goals for 2010

2. Try to read them every day

3. Flip Chart or White Board - The daily tasks are written there - what needs to be done everyday

4. Calendar that sits on your desk and glares at you everyday… not to irritate you but to send friendly reminders on what’s next - this can be electronic too - I need friendly reminders to stay on task

5. Get clear on what you are trying to achieve and WHY - this helps me understand the importance of my accomplishments

6. Schedule times to check email throughout the day- helps eliminate my distractions and believe me I have quite a few of them

7. Share your goals with a business buddy - this holds me accountable

8. Do one thing at a time - then you won’t feel overwhelmed - my biggest obstacle!!!

9. Be receptive to doing tasks differently - being receptive to new solutions

10. Take action on your best ideas!

Happy New Year!

Wishing the best for 2010!

Our traditions have been passed down from our family or religions. We can find solace in knowing, that there in lies a deep mystical truth for each of us to rediscover from one generation to another.

This Christmas, like many other people around the world, I will be celebrating the holiday season without someone I love. Many of our loved ones have passed into the Glorious Light of Heaven. It can be a very raw and painful experience. Personally, I am helped through this process by warm memories of Christmas past, a time of pure love and joy in my life. Sometimes I would trade anything for one more embrace, one special word, a glance or kiss. When the holiday songs begin to play I can’t help but recall childhood memories of family gatherings with grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins who helped create more beautiful memories of my life time.

Merry Christmas from Celebrating Life Ministries - by Rev Paul Funfsinn

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

Like Rev Paul Funfsinn and many of you, I too am celebrating this special season of joy and hope with my loved ones… even the loved ones who are in heaven. I miss them terribly; my Mom, Dad, and sweet Hanna. Merry Christmas to you! May you be safe, warm, happy and loved well. Know that you remain in my heart forever and are sorely missed.

Like you, I must live and be happy with my loved ones who share my side. Together we celebrate peace on earth.

Happy Holidays to you!

Carol

If you are an adult child or baby boomer and have an older relative that lives in another city or state, you may be going home for the holidays. This is an exciting time… maybe. You may also be a little leery of what you’ll find.. like a messy house, unkempt aging relative, food less refrigerator, disorganized meds, or maybe a very cold home.

That’s what happened to me several years ago when visiting my Dad. It was 33 degrees outside and Dad’s home must have been down to 50! burrrr.., I thought! “Dad, why is it so cold in here?” His answer was that he couldn’t get the pilot light to come on. I think he just couldn’t get down on the floor any longer to light it. Well, thank goodness that I came home. We quickly remedied that situation. And made additional plans to have someone check in on him regularly.

But if you are going home for the holidays consider taking this list along, it is very simple but a good place to start and may help you determine if your aging relative needs some help at home. Besides, it will help you find a bit of peace of mind too.

Senior Home Checklist

Happy Holidays!

Carol

This technology uses advanced triangulation techniques to determine the precise location of a mobile phone, or, as in the case of EmFinders, the location of a specially designed wearable device. The target user segment are the impaired individuals at risk of wandering in the U.S. Those affected are:

Alzheimer’s — 5.2 million affected
Autism — 1.5 million affected
Down syndrome — 400,000 affected
Mental Illness — 57 million affected
Intellectual Disability — 2.5 million affected

What is EmFinders?

EmFinders is an emergency locating system that is triggered by the caregiver (not the missing person), and provides critical information for the recovery of a missing person.

Who benefits from EmFinders?

EmFinders is designed to help persons with medical impairments (like Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome or Autism) who are at risk of becoming disoriented and lost. The EmFinders device provides caregivers with peace of mind, knowing that law enforcement can quickly locate and recover their loved one should that
person wander and become lost.

Law enforcement benefits from the EmFinders device by simplifying and expediting the process of locating a missing person. Senior communities benefit because they can protect their residents and reduce their liability risks, while providing residents with maximum personal freedom.

To get more information on Emfinders, please visit MissingPatient.com.

Medicare can be confusing. Most older adults that I speak with are confused about Part D. It is advised that caregivers learn and understand Medicare Part D so you can help those you are caring for. Open Enrollment ends Dec. 31st and Caring.com has resources to help caregivers understand Part D as well as select a plan that works best.