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Providing care for an ageing loved one is no easy feat and many caregivers suffer from burnout. More often than not, people often struggle to balance the demands of being a caregiver, committing to their careers, while also fulfilling their family responsibilities. Over time as stress builds up, they find themselves seeking alternative services, such as respite care.

People can experience memory loss or memory distortion at any age. Some of these may become more pronounced with age.

In Singapore, there are approximately one in 10 people above the age of 60 who suffer from dementia – about 82,000 people as of 2018 and increasing. The numbers might not surprise you, but it’s never easy to adjust to a loved one being diagnosed with dementia. Caregivers of elderly suffering from dementia will realise that caring for a person with diminishing mental, physical and functional abilities is an enormous and overwhelming task – especially when done alone. Caregivers can begin to neglect their own well-being and experience pressing stress and anxiety.

Dementia is a condition characterised by a decline in cognitive function, that goes beyond what is expected with normal ageing. Forgetfulness, struggling to follow conversations or find the right words, experiencing confusion, and having difficulty concentrating are common symptoms of dementia in your loved one. For this reason, communication can feel like a particularly frustrating task, especially given how important it is in the caregiving process.

Communication with elderly parents can be challenging because of their decline in memory, reduced ability to process information, hearing or sight impediments, and sometimes even separation from their friends or a community in Singapore. As such, learning effective methods to communicate with your elderly parents is one of the best ways to overcome these difficulties and encourage productive conversation. From preparing the conversation, using your body language to express yourself, to actively showing you care, we share just 5 tips that can make a positive change for your interactions.

Ageing well involves ageing actively – and games play an important role in doing that!