Ohio Department of Aging

• Older Ohioans & Families
• Providers & Professionals
• Advocacy & Legislation

• Home
• Info Center
• About Us

July 2007

Help Caregivers Access Adult Day Centers

People with dementia can find a secure, supportive environment at adult day centers, while their caregivers receive a break from the daily stresses of caregiving. Adult day care typically involves a planned program of activities designed to promote well-being through social and health-related services.

Caregivers may feel reluctant to use adult day care services because they seem unfamiliar, or because a loved one is hesitant to try something new. Similarly, it may be hard to convince the person with dementia to attend an adult day center, but there are methods the professionals working with them can use to make the transition easier.

• Convince the caregiver first. Talk her into touring the facility to see what might interest her and to discuss anything she may object to. If possible, encourage the caregiver to check out more than one center to see the differences and similarities in how they operate.
• Help the caregiver find a convincing reason. Some care recipients attend because they view the center as their "club" or a "class." Some go for a particular activity or to be with a new friend. Some attend to help others, as a volunteer would. Work with the caregiver to find the benefits that will appeal most to the recipient.
• Look for a hook. Arrange for the person to visit the center when there is an activity scheduled that they might enjoy or even try out on the spot.
• Encourage the caregiver to enlist the support of an "expert." If it would help, ask the person's physician, clergy or trusted family friend to talk with them about the merits of attending.
• Reinforce the positive. Support any positive experience that the care recipient has or that the caregiver or someone on the staff notices.
• Try again later. Sometimes a care recipient frets so much that it becomes counterproductive for him to keep attending. Trying to reintroduce the center's activities again after a few months break often proves successful.

Table of Contents...