Helping with personal care is a major lifestyle change both for you and the person in your care. This is mainly true if you are caring for your parent, especially caring for a parent of the opposite sex. Even though it can be difficult to provide personal care to a parent, with time, most people adjust to the change in the relationship and are able to provide excellent care.

Alzheimer's disease gradually will get in the way of the person's ability to take care of activities of daily living-- bathing, eating, toileting on her own. In the early stage, she will be able to do the activities without much help from you. But gradually you will need to provide more and more assistance so she can finish a task. In the late stage, the person will need total help.

It will be helpful if you think of these caregiving moments as opportunities to have a meaningful and pleasant shared experience, rather than as chores. If you approach the person with this attitude, it may be easier for him or her to accept your taking part in what used to be a private and ordinary part of the daily routine. As a caregiver, you also may feel less distressed by activities such as washing the person and touching private places if you think about them in that way. You may be saddened to see a person who once helped you coordinate your wardrobe stylishly now insisting she wants to wear the same thing every day.

In addition to dealing with these emotional aspects of providing care, as time goes by, it may be necessary for you to learn new skills, such as how to use adaptive devices such as shower chairs and hand-under-hand-assistance for helping the person in your care in the later stages. Training by an occupational or physical therapist will help you to be more competent and confident and will result in less stress for you and the person in your care.