Visitors

Having friends and family visit can help relieve social isolation and depression, but be aware that visits can cause fatigue or agitation in your loved one from too much stimulation. You can prepare visitors ahead of time by printing or emailing sections of this website which explain the disease.

Try this:

1. Pay attention to how your loved one responds to visitors.
   • Are they welcomed?
   • Are visits tiresome?
   • Do they make your loved one more restless or agitated?
2. Explain to visitors:
   • How to approach
   • How to talk to the patient
   • What to expect from the patient: patients may seem apathetic or disengaged from the visitors. Encourage visitors not to take this personally. The visit can be helpful to the patient and the caregiver, even if the patient seems disinterested. Conversely, inappropriate behavior toward visitors can emerge; if this is likely, warn the visitors in advance and give them an "exit strategy" if it becomes too uncomfortable for them.
3. Keep visits short without any expectation of "entertaining" the guest
4. Try having visiting hours scheduled into your daily routine and use that time to play games, go for a walk or do something else that your loved one finds enjoyable
5. If you have a meal with friends, prepare them for any changes in eating behavior in advance, so that you do not feel embarrassed. You will be surprised how understanding some friends can be.
6. If the patient gets upset when people leave, try leaving as a meal is served to the patient. The meal often provides enough distraction so that the patient does not get distressed by the caregiver or visitors leaving.