ElderAuthority.com

Senior Transportation: Wake Up Call

If you are hoping that this article will point you toward a menu or cookie cutter program that will solve your transportation needs, you are out of luck.  As far as I can tell, there ain’t any such animal.
Autonomy in Transportation=Independence
Maintaining mobility is crucial to the health and wellbeing of older people.  One of the strongest predictors of premature death among the elderly is social isolation.
The primary reason seniors are anxious about the possibility… More

EMPOWERED ELDERLY DRIVERS

OLDER DRIVERS ARE GETTING SAFER
One of the most traumatic crisis of aging is having to stop driving.  Increasingly, seniors are taking control of their driving futures.  They want to be the ones who determine when it is time to hang up the keys.
A three-year study from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that older drivers are becoming safer drivers.  Between 1996 and 2008, seniors 75 and older showed declines of 45% or more in fatal accidents.   This decline was… More

DRIVING AND DEMENTIA CARE AT HOME

 
CHECK OUT www.alz.org/driving
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can impair insight and judgment, making it difficult for people to understand that their driving is no longer safe. Also cognitive diseases can cause mood and personality changes that make reactions more pronounced.
This site includes four wonderful videos that show how families and friends begin the driving discussion.  I urge you to watch all four of them. I include one of them here,… More

DEMENTIA SIGNS

Since we are all different, it is no surprise that (should we begin to experience some form of dementia) our symptoms and any changing behaviors will also vary from person to person.  Noticeable dementia signs will not be the same in all people.
MEMORY AND DEMENTIA
Usually the first dementia sign that individuals and families notice are lapses in short-term memory.  Perhaps you notice that your dad tells the same story during the same conversation, or your spouse forgets where… More

BABYBOOMERS ASSESS PARENTS’ SAFETY

Here is some excellent, practical advice from Elaine Sanchez for BabyBoomers (Baby Boomers) trying to asses the safety of their parents.  I like the way she presents information clearly and simply so that we can all understand it the first time around. She covers issues such as

Physical Safety
Home Safety and Helpful Technologies
Driving
Mental and Emotional Safety
Social Activity and Isolation
Finances
Bill paying and Bookkeeping
Legal issues such as Trusts,  Directives,… More

HEALTHY AGING: SENIOR DRIVING STATS IMPROVE

WHEN IT IS TIME TO CHANGE DRIVING HABITS?
Older drivers grudgingly admit it is difficult to detect if their driving skills have diminished.  Do their driving habits need to change or halt all together?  Health issues, eye sight, hearing, reflexes and slower reaction time can eventually trump decades of safe driving experience.  But when is the right time to suggest to Mom or Dad that it might be a good idea to tap the brakes on their independent driving?
For many, that decision… More

INDEPENDENT SENIOR LIVING: DRIVING

DRIVING DECISION IMPACTS ENTIRE FAMILY
Mother never forgave me for taking her car keys and selling her car.  By age 79, her driving had already become limited to a small circuit of familiar stops; mostly church, the grocery store and nearby homes of friends for lunch or bridge games.  But her car represented her freedom and independence, and no longer driving was a milestone in her life she never accepted and always despised.  Even into her 90’s when I would introduce her… More

RESPECTING HANDICAP PARKING

YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND UNTIL YOU REALLY NEED THE SPACE

I never realized why handicap parking was important until I needed it.  In fact I used to drive through parking lots ranting about all the unused handicap parking spaces.  I am generally a nice person, but I just didn’t get it about the parking.
A LIFE SAVER FOR CAREGIVERS
My awareness changed when I became the primary care partner for my parents.  I was also the sibling responsible for attending all doctors appointments. … More