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Making family decisions for parents with Alzheimer's disease

November is National Alzheimer's Disease Month.

November is National Alzheimer's Disease Month. 

There are several ways adult children can help their parents with Alzheimer's maintain their independence. It can get tricky trying to do what's best for parents, particularly when adult children have different ideas of what's best.

It can sometimes be difficult for siblings to figure out what's best for mom or dad because

they use how they feel about each other to guide their decisions. They tend not to see, or they choose to ignore their siblings' relationships with their parents. This means that you may not be getting objective opinions.

When making joint decisions for what is best for your parents, you should always remember that the decision is best for your mom or dad, not about what's best for you. It doesn't matter whether you like your sibling or your opinion about what your sibling or isn't doing enough. This is irrelevant. What's relevant is putting your differences aside so you can make the best decisions for your parents.

If only sibling arguments ended once you all became adults. If talking on the phone or in-person leads to arguments, then switch to written communication, whether text or email. If your sibling refuses to communicate with you, then you might have to get creative in finding out what's happening with your parent. You might reach out to other family members for updates about your parent. Reach out to your parent's physicians and therapists yourself to stay updated.

Share your thoughts on my Facebook page: Blanca Cobb – Body Language Expert. Write a message on my timeline, and I'll get back to you. While you're on my page, I'd appreciate it if you could give my page a "like."

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