Ask for help

"Caregivers need to ask for help, and be specific," ABC Nightly News with Diane Sawyer.

Easier said than done for some of us, but good advice. I would also add: be wise about whom you ask for help; no sense wasting time and energy asking someone unlikely to be able or willing to be of assistance. We can choose to ask family members, neighbors, friends for specific areas of help.

This ABC segment also said that family members of a person with dementia should offer their support to the caregiver, and they should call regularly to talk with the care receiver. The person with dementia still needs to hear from family members and loved ones; and it is not realistic to think they can do the calling. It is one more way to support both the caregiver and the person with dementia.