BOISE, Idaho — November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and one Idaho business is working to make sure families know about and have access to all resource in senior care.
Stacy Gunnerson is the owner and president of Grannie On The Move.
She and her staff specialize in making sure families get access to all available resources for senior care especially for memory loss.
Gunnerson explains what Alzheimer’s disease is.
"Alzheimer's is a type of dementia. A lot of people think Alzheimer's and dementia are two separate things. Actually, Alzheimer's is a type of dementia, and the word dementia simply means memory loss," said Gunnerson.
Living with Alzheimer’s can be difficult, but letting your loved one feel accepted and valued despite memory loss is important.
“That's really the best way to handle it, is to turn it into something fun, and not correct them. Just live in the moment with them. We call that validation and cueing and redirection. So you validate their feeling, validate that they want to run away and steal horses, just say, Oh, okay. You want to get out of here. Let's go for a walk instead of saying there are no horses." Gunnerson said.
November is also Family Caregivers Awareness Month.
Gunnerson said it is important to recognize stress and difficulty caring for family members with memory loss disease.
“There are multiple programs. We have free caregiver education and support groups available every week. And I myself at my business Grannie On The Move, we have a free class that we teach every Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Meridian, and every other Tuesday is either a class teaching you how to deal with the things that come with caring for someone with dementia, or a support group so you can have an opportunity to have your voice heard and talk to other caregivers that may be going through the same thing," said Gunnerson.
You can find help getting resources for your loved one with Grannie On The Move.
The Idaho Chapter of the National Alzheimer's Association has additional information and resources for living with Alzheimer's.