Chores ‘Can Help Dementia Sufferers Maintain Their Identity’

If your partner is suffering from dementia, it’s important that you still allow them to be involved in the day-to-day tasks associated with running a home.

This is the advice of Dr Gayle Madden, Admiral Nurse Professional and practice development facilitator, who offered some tips to couples who are dealing with a dementia diagnosis or who are living with dementia in an article for Dementia UK.

She explained that when one partner has dementia, it “impacts the balance in a couple’s relationship”. In many cases, each partner will have chores that they typically carry out, and it’s these activities that help give them “a sense or purpose and value”.

“When someone has dementia it’s critical that they retain their sense of purpose and value in the home,” Dr Madden stated. That means looking at ways to allow them to contribute, and to make both partners lives easier. She recommends finding ways of doing things together, so that both partners are contributing.

She suggests talking about the tasks that the person suffering with dementia would usually do, and finding out what level of involvement they still want to have.

You should also talk about any changes you need to make to your home, such as installing easy access showers to make areas like the bathroom safer and more accessible.

Last month, the Express offered some advice on how to make your home more dementia friendly. Top tips include putting photos of familiar faces and places around the home to help trigger memories, and ensuring there’s as much natural light as possible in the home.

This is because dementia can affect a person’s sense of time, and being able to see when it’s light or dark outside can help those suffering from dementia better judge the time of day.