Special needs redefined

We social workers use a lot of lingo and many acronyms to describe the work we do in the child welfare world.

In fact, that language—most fields, though, have their own jargon—can become confusing to new families as they begin to gather information about the children we place, the foster care or adoption process and whether they want to become foster or adoptive parents or both.

One of the terms we use that people question is “special needs.” Often, when someone hears those words from us for the first time they think about children who are disabled or handicapped, probably needing special educational accommodations. This perception is not, however, what this phrase means to us.

Adjusting to your new senior living lifestyle

After all the hard work of planning, narrowing down choices and making the big move, you’re finally settled into your new senior living community. Your family helped you move in. They’ve called almost every day. You’ve met a handful of new people. But community life is still very new—and you wonder how long it will take before you start to feel at home.

This scenario is more common than you might think among older adults who make the move to senior living.

While the relocation process can be exciting, after the hustle and bustle of moving day ends, new residents can feel unsure what to do next or how to integrate into their new community. No matter how old we get, huge changes in our lifestyles inevitably come with an adjustment period.

If your recent move to senior living has you feeling a bit out of place, don’t worry! You didn’t make a mistake—it just sometimes takes time to adjust to a new way of living. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to shorten that adjustment period and start feeling at home. Click here to read more!

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‘Care conversations’: Common phrases caregivers need to know

If you’ve just begun caring for an older adult, it’s easy to be confused by the jargon of senior-focused health care.

And if you’re searching for a senior living community, the various terms and phrases to describe different levels of care require building a new set of vocabulary just to navigate literature you receive.

In addition to the terms about your loved one’s health conditions, there are a handful of phrases all caregivers should know while they are providing care and when choosing a senior living community.

Finding Order in the Acronyms

Many senior living communities refer to their levels of care services with acronyms. When you are familiar with these common terms, you’ll find it easier to determine which services different communities provide.

Click here to read this helpful information.

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Humble and kind

Whenever the Tim McGraw song “Humble and Kind” plays on the radio, I can feel our 8-year-old roll his eyes as I remind him that these lyrics are something I hope he takes to heart:

“Don’t take for granted the love this life gives you / When you get where you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around / And help the next one in line. / Always stay humble and kind.”

It’s important to us that Cayden understands that we have been incredibly blessed to have had so many people help us in our journey to become a family.

How are those New Year’s resolutions going?

Now that we are almost halfway through the year, it’s a great time to reflect on our New Year’s resolutions.

I think we may find, however, that many of us (myself included) have not changed much. A habit needs more than just a holiday to make or break it. Habits are adaptations—specifically, coping skills—that we create to deal with daily life.

Traditional thinking is that it takes 28 days to change a habit. Whether we are talking about diet, spending habits or some type of rehab, individuals equate change to this magic number.

However, latest research shows that 66 days is the actual number. That is quite a difference!

And merely wishing and waiting till day 66 will not get us to our goals either. If you already quit your resolutions back in February, here are a few suggestions to help get you back on track.

How to help a grieving parent cope with the loss of a friend

On their most recent visit, “Sarah’s” adult children found her withdrawn and sad. What was going on?

As their conversation continued, the children discovered a dear friend of their mother’s had recently passed away.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, grief at the loss of those we know and love becomes more frequent.

When parents are aging, their adult children will come to understand that losing friends is a new, strange reality for them.

So how do we help our parents as they grieve their lifelong friends? How do we begin to understand the sadness of being left behind?

You can click here to read suggestions….

The importance of wellness

I recently wrote about our long history in senior living services and our focus on independence in both body and spirit for the residents we serve.

But there is certainly more to our work ….

Our commitment to health & wellness

Independence comes from caring for your mind and body. At Diakon Senior Living, we’re wellness-oriented, offering exceptional options for staying healthy. Total wellness is an essential factor in encouraging our residents to lead rewarding and purposeful lives. From good nutrition and spiritual fulfillment to physical fitness and beyond, wellness arises as a cultural focus.

To us, in fact, wellness means building a meaningful lifestyle, however you define meaning. You can read more about this here.

FosterChildHeroMidst

Foster child: A hero in our midst

David is a hero and an inspiration to us.

We welcomed him into our family last year through foster care and he quickly became fond of our four ducks, including our only female, Limpy.

One cold winter day we received a lot of rain and the nearby creek was about two feet deep and running very fast. When the ducks went out to walk around under David’s supervision, Limpy decided to go into the rapids, which quickly swept her tumbling downstream.

David immediately went into action.

He ran alongside her, jumped into the creek and retrieved her before she went into the Mahoning Creek—which would have meant certain death to the duck.

He then yelled for me to come out of the house. I ran out to see him with the duck in his hands—and ice on his snow-pants and gloves. As he told me what happened, I could tell that Limpy was hypothermic and dying. We took her to the basement, where it was warm, and wrapped her in a towel. I thought she was a goner.

David stayed by her side that night.

The next morning, Limpy stood and quacked a little. We gave her food and water but she still wouldn’t eat. David suggested that she might be missing the other ducks, so we brought them all in—and it worked! She seemed happy and ate well. Within a week, she was much better and we let them all back outside again.

Since then, Limpy allows David to hold her and carry her around. You can see the love in her eyes for him.

When David first came here, he wanted to be a farmer. Now, he wants to be a vet so he can take care of animals.

We are very proud of his bravery and kind heart and are so glad he is part of our family!

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Diakon Senior Living promotes independence, health and well-being

You might miss several important dates in our 150th anniversary celebration.

While Diakon began as two homes for children in 1868 and 1896, we also were among the earliest providers of senior living.

One home, located in Reading, Pennsylvania, opened in 1876! And a few decades later, one of the superintendents at The Lutheran Home at Topton set aside funds to care for older adults, a goal realized in the 1940s when the children’s home dedicated a building on campus to care for “aged guests.” Similar homes soon arose in central Pennsylvania within our prior organizations.

And so, for nearly 150 years, Diakon has been providing compassionate support and gracious hospitality to older adults. That is an amazing legacy that you can read more about here!

 

Taking a threat of suicide seriously

To deal with an issue means we need to talk about it.

But, for many, even saying the word suicide can be a challenge. And we certainly never expect someone considering suicide to just tell us about such thoughts—which means we need to be aware of the signs and symptoms if we are to prevent suicide.

In fact, talking about it is the first step to suicide prevention. In fact, one of the most significant things you can do is to talk to someone if you have concerns.

Say that you are worried. That you love them. That you care. And listen.

But when do you say these things? Here are potential questions to consider if you are concerned:

 

  • Is the person starting to give away things?
  • Perhaps starting to say his or her “goodbyes”?
  • Is the person making statements such as, “I am not worried as it won’t be much longer,” or “I know you will be ok afterwards,” or “I just want to get it over with.”
  • Are there increases in substance use?
  • Is the person withdrawing and isolating from hobbies, family, friends, and so on?
  • Are there risk factors present such as mental health conditions, access to weapons (especially firearms) and previous attempts at suicide or a family history of suicide?

 

Always take such statements and threats of suicide seriously.

In fact, asking questions or talking about suicide will notput the idea in someone’s head.  Research shows the opposite often occurs.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.afsp.org) notes that the annual age-adjusted suicide rate is 13.42 per 100,000 individuals with an average of 123 suicides per day.Pennsylvania’s rate is higher, with 14.66 per 100,000 individuals, ranking 27 in the United States.

There are no magic words, gestures or objects to “fix” an individual, so don’t focus on trying to find a quick solution to an individual about whom you are concerned.

Rather, spend time talking to the person at risk, lock up weapons and offer support. And always take time to listen—and to seek professional help as needed.

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