Articles:

• Communicating with Elderly Parents
• Long Distance Caregiving
• Holiday Visits with the Elderly-Red Flags for Relatives
• How to Guard Against Identity Theft
• How to Have a Good Visit with Someone Who Has Dementia
• Prevent Your Elder from Falling
• The Importance of a Professional Geriatric Assessment
• Geriatric Care Managers vs. Caregivers – What’s the Difference?
• Ten Tips for Baby Boomers on Interacting with Aging Parents
• Alternative Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease
• Immunizations for those over 50 Years of Age
• Hoarding and the Elderly
• Following a Heart Healthy Diet
• Daily Money Management-A Missing Piece to Keep Financial Affairs on Track
• Elder Abuse-A Silent Problem
• SUMMER FUN
• Respite-A Guilt Free Time Out

Communicating with Elderly Parents

Communicating is not always easy, and communicating with family members and parents about tough decisions can be even more difficult.

Here are some tips and thoughts when starting a conversation with an elderly parent about living or financial decisions and changes:

1. Share your own feelings and concerns. Reassure your parent that you support them and can be depended upon.

2. Understand the importance of allowing your parent to retain control of their decisions and the importance, to them, of independence.

3. Encourage small steps toward big decisions or changes. Change is always difficult, so small changes are easier to accept and understand.

4. Educate yourself on legal, financial and medical matters and issues that relate to your parent and the aging process. Knowing and clearly understanding the options that are available will help assure your parent.

5. Be realistic about your own time and energy limits. Don`t be afraid to find help. Help can come from many different people - caring neighbors, watchful caregivers, and other family members.

Talking with loved ones about their living or financial situation may be one of the toughest conversations you`ll ever have but absolutely worth it!

Resources:
The Internet provides an amazing amount of information about nearly every topic under the sun - and the topic of aging is no exception. Each newsletter, I`ll recommend several web and book resources that you may find helpful.

Local Resource:
The Local Area Agency on Aging website (www.centralcoastseniors.org) contains downloadable senior resource guides for both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County as well as "Be Active for Life", a fitness resource guide for older adults.

Books:
AARP`s recently published "Your Parents: The Complete AARP Guide" is a guide map for those who are caring for aging parents. The book is a resource as well as guidebook for navigating through the process of aging in a respectful and thoughtful manner. The book can be found at most bookstores as well as online at www.barnesandnoble.com