Elderly Care in Oakwood GA

June is National Aphasia Awareness Month. This month, dedicate yourself to learning more about this communication disorder so that you can be sure that your parent is receiving the level of care, assistance, and support that they need to handle it in their daily life.

Aphasia occurs when the areas of the brain that are responsible for language are damaged, causing disruptions in your parent’s ability to communicate effectively. This condition does not in any way impact intelligence, but does impact the person’s ability to utilize language properly.

Some of the common symptoms of aphasia include:

• Having difficulty producing the word that they want to say or expressing the thought or feeling that they want to
• Feeling as though a word or thought is “right at the tip of their tongue”
• Frequently substituting words for the words that they actually mean, but often coming up with words that are somewhat related
• Reversing sounds within words that they want to say, such as “aminal” rather than “animal”
• Coming up with made-up words or saying strings of sounds and nonsensical words
• Saying words and sounds in streams that sound coherent but that do not actually make any sense
• Not fully understanding what someone is saying to them, especially if the person is speaking for a long period of time or using complex sentence structures
• Having difficulty deciphering speech when there is a lot of background noise or other distractions
• Not being able to properly interpret figures or speech, sarcasm, or jokes
• Having difficulty reading and understanding written words when they have never had difficulty with this skill before
• New issues spelling words or being able to come up with proper sentences
• New difficulties understanding numbers or number concepts

Though it sounds like a frightening and unusual condition, the reality is that aphasia is actually a fairly common condition. In fact, the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates that there approximately one million people throughout the United States who are currently dealing with the condition.

Aphasia can put extra challenges into the daily life of your aging parent. Not only will they have greater difficulty expressing themselves effectively, but this can impact their emotional health as well. They may get frustrated, feel embarrassed, and start to avoid social situations because they do not want to deal with the condition and its effects. This can then lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, isolation, and loss of motivation. Creating a course of management that helps your parent to deal with this condition in effective and meaningful ways can help them to avoid these negative effects and continue to enjoy an active, healthy quality of life.

An elderly care provider can be instrumental in your efforts to help your parent with aphasia. This elderly health care services provider can be there for your parent, helping them to cope, coming up with alternative means of communication, and ensuring that they get the care and assistance that they need regardless of their communication issues.

The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable elderly care in Oakwood, GA and the surrounding areas. Call (678) 828-2195 for more information.

Source:  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Aphasia/

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Valerie Darling

Founder, Owner at Home Care Matters

Valerie was born in Miami, FL and after a few family moves, grew up locally in the Marietta, GA area.Valerie is the oldest of 4 (3 younger brothers).She is married and has one child.Valerie is the Founder, Owner and CEO of Home Care Matters.Valerie’s mom, Dee, is the inspiration and primary driver as the how and why the business was born.Valerie says, “My mom is never far from our thoughts.Mom was an integral part of developing and starting HCM before she passed away.Our goal is to stay true to her memory and continue to honor her with the love, values, and ethics she taught us.”

Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”

Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”

You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).

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