How Seniors Can Communicate Better Non-verbally

A senior citizen that has good communication skills will find all areas of their life to benefit. Many seniors may just focus on verbal and written communication, but non-verbal communication is extremely important as it makes up a large percentage of one’s daily interpersonal communication. Seniors can practice better nonverbal communication by following these tips.

1. Practice Great Eye Contact—Whether a senior is just speaking to their doctor or a loved one, they should always look people in the eye. Those that don’t can appear somewhat evasive.

2. Put Into Place Meaningful Signals—Seniors that practice good nonverbal signals and gestures can improve their verbal communication. This could involve using hand gestures to enforce what you are saying.

3. Think about the context of signals and the ability to misread them—If a senior is communicating with someone, they should always factor in the context of the situation in what nonverbal communication techniques they should use. Some situations are more formal than others. Using the wrong signal can lend itself to being misread.

4. Watch That Tone—Often times a senior citizen may be saying one thing, but have a tone conveying the opposite. Seniors should always be aware of how their tone of voice comes off to others. Tone should correspond to the emotions you are trying to convey.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Mississauga Aging Care helps seniors stay safe, active and healthy in their own homes.

Seniors who injure themselves often face a long period of recovery in the hospital, and while that can be trying some of the greatest challenges start once seniors return home. As they recover, even the most independent seniors can struggle to take care of themselves; it becomes a challenge to get to necessary medical appointments and manage the upkeep of their home. Seniors may not require ongoing home help, but these seniors need to make their recovery a priority and may benefit from home helper services such as:

• Escort to medical appointments, rehabilitation facilities and other crucial aspects of the recovery process that seniors need to attend to out of their home

• Personal services to help seniors as they’re recovering like reminding them to take medications and helping them to dress and bathe

• Help around the home so seniors can focus on recovering rather than maintaining their home. Home helpers can do light housekeeping, laundry and help prepare meals

Learn more about HISC’s home helper services

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

In every country around the world, there is a senior population, which means that questions of senior care are ones that families across the globe find themselves having to address. So, the question is not if family caregiving itself is universal, but if the approach to family care is the same across cultures and countries.

In North America alone, there are some notable differences in the care structure that US and Canadian families face. The issues are the same, the concerns are the same, and the love and desire to make elders have the best lives possible do not vary. But, in some ways, caregivers in Canada do deal with some different elements that caregivers in the US do not, and the most noticeable differences are presented by the healthcare systems.

In Canada, we have universal health care, giving our seniors added security because they don’t need to worry as much about having extensive funding available to pay for a long-term hospital stay, when the bulk of medical services are covered by provincial health plans, like OHIP in Ontario. What this means for the care structure is that Canadian seniors have more options when it comes to their care decisions. Instead of devoting their savings exclusively for medical emergencies like American seniors, Canadian seniors can better look at the options available to them should they require home care. Senior care services, don’t come with the same financial burden in Canada, because the health care costs are removed.

Via: WorkingCaregiver

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Stress Takes a Dramatic Toll on Those Caring for Older Adults.  The following stories are examples of the stress that family caregiving plays on lives.  If you can identify with any of the following, reach out for help by calling Home Care Mississauga at 905.276.2273.

She awakens in the morning still exhausted after a fitful night of sleep and immediately feels overwhelmed. There’s the report due at work today that she hasn’t had time to prepare, her son’s afternoon soccer practice and a school board meeting that night.

And, she’s also a family caregiver for a senior – meaning she has to find time for her mother, who’s 84-years-old and lives at home alone.

Her mother can’t drive anymore, or reach into the cupboard to pull out a cereal box, or even see well enough to take her correct medication dosages. And today, just like yesterday, there are no easy answers about how to fit her mom into the never-ending juggling act that, for her, is just a typical day.

This is the life of the family caregiver – who totals one in every four Canadians, according to various studies. New evidence and interviews with long term care family caregivers reveal a disturbing trend of the debilitating stress that often accompanies this role, although most still say that, in spite of the challenges, the job also comes with many rewards.

A recent stress test conducted by Home Instead Senior Care demonstrated that of the 8,000 family caregivers who participated, more than three-fourths (76 percent) reported their aging loved one’s needs to be overwhelming, 91 percent said they have episodes of feeling anxious or irritable, 73 percent have disturbed sleep patterns and 56 percent seem to become ill more frequently.

“Every day we encounter these family caregivers who love and want the best for their aging family members, but don’t know how to fit it all in,” said Paul Hogan, CEO of Home Instead Senior Care. “For these people, stress is a constant companion.”

These examples each illustrate how extremely important support is to the overall equation – it’s one of the key survival tools for any family caregiver.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Please call 905- 276-2273.