If you are looking to host an event for an elderly person there are certain things you need to keep in mind. First you should look at the needs of the person you are having the event for. If the person has some impairments such as vision or hearing you need to tailor the event to that person’s ability. So say for example you want to have party for your 85 year old aunt who is visually impaired, showing pictures in their regular size may not work. You might need to increase the size of the item, the details of the item need to be pointed out to the person as small things in pictures such as your grandfather’s hat may be difficult for the person to find.
If you have a hearing impaired person, too many sounds at once is difficult for the person to decipher who is talking, what is being said over the other sounds in the room and your guests need to be told to speak slower and take their time.
If you have a person or person attending the event you need to look a the location of the event. If you plan on having a party at a local hall or restaurant and you are inviting the person’s friends or other relatives who are elderly, please remember that they might not be able to climb steps or walk far distance. Granted many places today have handicap entrances but you need to look at distance from parking lot to the party itself. Elderly individuals can tire easily if they need to walk a far distance. You might have someone on guest list who requires the use of oxygen or some special medical equipment, again location, parking and distance are important to keep in mind.
Activities should be simple, not complicated or lengthy. Elderly people really do not want to sit through an hour of opening presents. It can be overwhelming for them and tiring. If you want to have an activity put the emphasis on something that you do rather than what the elderly person has to do. For example, tell the guests that instead of presents they can make a donation to the person’s charity of choice or charity of their choice and then just write in a card we made donation to x charity. The elderly love greeting cards and old fashion types of communication. Later after the party, you can have 2 or 3 visits with the person reading all the cards to him or her.
Try not to put to much stress on the elderly person. Sometimes we get caught up in the I want this to be the most special party for him or her and we end up rummaging through their pictures or attic and it can cause the elderly person much stress. Elderly people do not like their things moved and some of that is a result of their eyesight being poor. They are fearful they may not find it again. There can also be much suspicion that you took a picture they were saving to a certain family member they wanted to give it to and that can cause arguments and alot of unnecessary stress.
The bottom line is before you plan a party for elderly person, put yourself in his or her shoes. What is their daily life like? If it is slow, quiet and routine then you need to keep the party a similar slow, quiet and routine. I am not saying be dull, have no music and go at a snail’s pace. What I am saying is planning a party for an elderly person is much different than planning for yourself. YOu need to know who you are planning for and what they can tolerate not what you want. Tolerate is the key. If you want your elderly person to have a nice time then what can she or he tolerate? If she can only stand for few minutes than we don’t want someone to do a special dance with her. If he can only communicate a few words (impaired from a stroke) than everyone trying to ask the person questions, how do you like the party is not going to work. Planning is a part of interactive caregiving. When a Comfort Keeper engages in interactive caregiving, he or she is taking the time to get the client, what the client's capabilities are and then when a Comfort Keepers performs an action with the client, the Comfort Keepers knows what the client can tolerate or what the client can do in the interaction. For example, folding laundry is an activity that many older ladies like to do. At Comfort Keepers, we provide that service to our clients but before we are active, we learn about our client (inter -personal) and then when it comes time to be active, we can be interactive when we provide assistance (caregiving) to the person. Learning about the client allows the Comfort Keeper to know that the person is capable of folding 2 or 3 towels and the person loves to fold them. We can then have the client participate in that activity thus fulfilling the mission of being and interactive caregiver.
If you have a hearing impaired person, too many sounds at once is difficult for the person to decipher who is talking, what is being said over the other sounds in the room and your guests need to be told to speak slower and take their time.
If you have a person or person attending the event you need to look a the location of the event. If you plan on having a party at a local hall or restaurant and you are inviting the person’s friends or other relatives who are elderly, please remember that they might not be able to climb steps or walk far distance. Granted many places today have handicap entrances but you need to look at distance from parking lot to the party itself. Elderly individuals can tire easily if they need to walk a far distance. You might have someone on guest list who requires the use of oxygen or some special medical equipment, again location, parking and distance are important to keep in mind.
Activities should be simple, not complicated or lengthy. Elderly people really do not want to sit through an hour of opening presents. It can be overwhelming for them and tiring. If you want to have an activity put the emphasis on something that you do rather than what the elderly person has to do. For example, tell the guests that instead of presents they can make a donation to the person’s charity of choice or charity of their choice and then just write in a card we made donation to x charity. The elderly love greeting cards and old fashion types of communication. Later after the party, you can have 2 or 3 visits with the person reading all the cards to him or her.
Try not to put to much stress on the elderly person. Sometimes we get caught up in the I want this to be the most special party for him or her and we end up rummaging through their pictures or attic and it can cause the elderly person much stress. Elderly people do not like their things moved and some of that is a result of their eyesight being poor. They are fearful they may not find it again. There can also be much suspicion that you took a picture they were saving to a certain family member they wanted to give it to and that can cause arguments and alot of unnecessary stress.
The bottom line is before you plan a party for elderly person, put yourself in his or her shoes. What is their daily life like? If it is slow, quiet and routine then you need to keep the party a similar slow, quiet and routine. I am not saying be dull, have no music and go at a snail’s pace. What I am saying is planning a party for an elderly person is much different than planning for yourself. YOu need to know who you are planning for and what they can tolerate not what you want. Tolerate is the key. If you want your elderly person to have a nice time then what can she or he tolerate? If she can only stand for few minutes than we don’t want someone to do a special dance with her. If he can only communicate a few words (impaired from a stroke) than everyone trying to ask the person questions, how do you like the party is not going to work. Planning is a part of interactive caregiving. When a Comfort Keeper engages in interactive caregiving, he or she is taking the time to get the client, what the client's capabilities are and then when a Comfort Keepers performs an action with the client, the Comfort Keepers knows what the client can tolerate or what the client can do in the interaction. For example, folding laundry is an activity that many older ladies like to do. At Comfort Keepers, we provide that service to our clients but before we are active, we learn about our client (inter -personal) and then when it comes time to be active, we can be interactive when we provide assistance (caregiving) to the person. Learning about the client allows the Comfort Keeper to know that the person is capable of folding 2 or 3 towels and the person loves to fold them. We can then have the client participate in that activity thus fulfilling the mission of being and interactive caregiver.
To learn more about Interactive Caregiving and how it works, contact your local Comfort Keepers. http://www.comfortkeepers.com/
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