Welcome to the month of pumpkin spice and everything nice!


Tips and Treats For a Fun October!
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This month's newsletter features some great advice for caregivers through the start of a hectic season full of festivities; take a look:
  • Helping to manage your loved one's changes in behavior 
  • Caregiving: A True Calling
  • Plus, odd facts about October

Read on...
What's on the Schedule for October:

Our calendar is bursting with activity! Check out the fun and varied activities planned for our residents this  month. Click below to see the full calendar of events.

Tips to Help Manage Behavioral Changes 

As a caregiver, your day is filled with planning and organizing your loved one's routines and then, suddenly, a mood shifts. They become agitated or unjustifiably paranoid. How do you respond? Why did this happen?
 
Behavior changes do occur in those with dementia and can be triggered by a change in environment, an ailment, or a number of other causes.

5 ways to help identify the causes of problem behavior:
  1. Look at your loved one's body language and imagine what they might be feeling or trying to express.
  2. Ask yourself, what happened just before the problem behavior started? Did something trigger the behavior?
  3. Are their needs being met? Is your loved one hungry, thirsty, or in pain?
  4. Does changing the environment by introducing favorite music, for example, help to comfort them?
  5. How did you react to the problem behavior? Did your reaction help to soothe your loved one or did it make the behavior worse?
While the caregiver might not have control over the behavior, they can manage how they react.  To learn more about managing these situations  click here

Hiring for Heart
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In our years of providing care, we have learned that compassionate care is not learned behavior, but rather an innate trait. Caregivers are special people who extend a part of themselves to love and care for those that they are responsible for. Those caring for people with dementia are exceptionally gifted. 

While not everyone was born to the role, we have found some techniques that you can use when you are interviewing caregivers for your loved one.

October Oddities

October was the 8th month in the old Roman calendar; the root word, 'Octo', translates to 'eight'.

More American Presidents (6) were born during the month of October than any other month.

October ends on the same day of the week as February every year.

In the Southern hemisphere, October is the seasonal equivalent to April.

On the last week of October, it is the only time of the entire year when all four major American sports have games at the same time: the MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA.

Keep an eye out for the  Orionid meteor shower, taking place October 2 through November 7, with peak visibility  in the predawn hours of October 21-22.

It's believed that w hen deer are in a gray coat in October, expect a hard winter.

A study in Italy reports that October is the best month for conceiving a boy.
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ActivCare at Brittany House  |  5401 E. Centralia Street  |  Long Beach, CA 90808
(562) 246-9690  |   ActivCareLiving.com