When a parent or spouse is living with dementia, deciding when they need more support can be difficult. Changes often happen gradually, and families may find themselves continually adjusting—checking in more often, preparing meals, managing medications, or rearranging work and family schedules.
Adult day services can provide a valuable middle ground: your parent can continue living at home while spending part of the day in a safe, structured and socially engaging environment. The Alzheimer’s Association notes that adult day centers can provide people with dementia opportunities for socialization and staffed activities while also giving family caregivers time to work, rest, run errands or attend to other responsibilities. Alzheimer’s Association
Here are 10 signs that it may be time to explore adult day services.
1. Your parent/spouse is increasingly isolated.
They may rarely leave home, see friends less frequently, or spend much of the day alone watching television or sleeping.
How Riverwalk can help: Social connection is an important part of the Senior Services program. Participants spend their days interacting with others through conversation, games, music, activities and shared meals. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
2. You’re becoming uncomfortable leaving them home alone.
Perhaps you’re worried about a fall, an appliance being left on, confusion, or what would happen if an unexpected situation occurred.
How Riverwalk can help: Riverwalk provides a supervised daytime environment with trained staff, including registered nurses and activity professionals. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
3. Their days have lost structure and purpose.
Dementia can make it increasingly difficult to initiate activities independently. Without structure, days can become long and repetitive.
How Riverwalk can help: Riverwalk provides a predictable daily routine that includes socializing, chair exercise, trivia, music, lunch, walks and rotating games and activities. Activities typically change about every half hour to keep participants engaged. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
4. They need more reminders or assistance during the day.
Medication reminders, meals, hydration and other everyday needs may be becoming harder for your parent/spouse to manage independently.
How Riverwalk can help: Riverwalk’s registered nurses provide health monitoring and services that can include medication administration, blood sugar checks, oxygen treatments and other medical oversight. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
5. You notice changes in eating or drinking habits.
Your parent/spouse may forget meals, eat poorly when alone, or simply lose interest in preparing food.
How Riverwalk can help: Participants who attend during the lunch period receive lunch, along with beverages and an afternoon snack. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
6. Your parent/spouse isn’t getting enough physical or mental stimulation.
Activities they once enjoyed may have disappeared from their routine, and they may spend increasingly long periods inactive.
How Riverwalk can help: Riverwalk combines physical, cognitive and social engagement through exercise, arts and crafts, music, trivia, games, entertainment, walks and outings. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
7. You’re trying to balance caregiving with work and family responsibilities.
Phone calls, visits and appointments can gradually turn caregiving into a second full-time job.
How Riverwalk can help: Riverwalk is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., providing families with dependable daytime support while their loved one remains part of the community. Door-to-door transportation can also be arranged for an additional fee. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
8. You’re becoming physically or emotionally exhausted.
Caregiver fatigue can develop slowly. You may realize that you haven’t had uninterrupted time for yourself, your spouse, friends, appointments or simply rest.
How Riverwalk can help: Adult day services provide something important for the caregiver, too: respite. The Alzheimer’s Association specifically identifies having time to rest, run errands, work or complete other responsibilities as an important benefit of adult day programs. Alzheimer’s Association
9. You want your parent/spouse to remain at home as long as possible.
You may not feel that assisted living or memory care is necessary yet, but managing everything at home without additional support is becoming increasingly difficult.
How Riverwalk can help: Adult day services can supplement the care families provide at home by adding daytime supervision, socialization, activities and health monitoring. Riverwalk specifically serves adults seeking affordable day services while continuing to age at home. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
10. You’re starting to wonder, “How much longer can we keep doing this?”
That question itself can be important. Seeking additional support doesn’t necessarily mean changing where your parent lives. It may simply mean expanding the caregiving team.
You Don’t Have to Wait for a Crisis
The best time to explore adult day services may be before the family reaches a breaking point.
Riverwalk Adult Day Services has served the Naperville community since 1983. Its Senior Services program provides a safe, social and stimulating daytime environment with professional staff, nursing oversight, meaningful activities, socialization, meals and caregiver support. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
Families can begin with an intake appointment to determine whether Riverwalk is an appropriate fit. Current eligibility requirements include being able to self-toilet, transfer without assistance, be free of communicable diseases, and participate positively in a group setting. Riverwalk Adult Day Services
Sometimes the goal isn’t to do more for your parent/spouse. It’s to build the right support around both of you.