Are you sure you want to exit? Your progress will be lost.
Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
✔
I acknowledge and authorize
✔
I consent to the collection of my consumer health data.*
✔
I consent to the sharing of my consumer health data with qualified home care agencies.*
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
Share a few details and we will match you to trusted home care in your area:
If she was 20 years younger say 68, then would it be more worrisome? Is there a specific age where it's determined "it's old age" versus something more?
Daisycat, I agree with what's been posted below. BUT it would be helpful to know the living arrangement...does your mom live with you? Or does she live in her own place by herself? If you live with her, then you don't need to read any further.
If she lives by herself, here is my experience: My husband and I discovered that my MIL had pretty bad memory loss only after her husband went into rehab from a fall and she was in the home alone for the first time in many years. MIL (on the phone) seemed perfectly good, answering general questions like, how are you? what's going on? what do you think about this weather, etc. We were bringing her groceries and meals since we didn't want her to drive. Then one day at a family outing she nearly fainted. Upon inspecting her fridge we discovered rotting food and no sign of her having eaten anything...for a few days. Even after that I'd call her twice a day to ask specifically if she had eaten and what did she actually eat. She'd always name the items. But when I checked in her kitchen, again rotting food and no signs of having eaten. She THOUGHT she had eaten and she'd tell me on the phone what she sincerely thought she ate. At that point we knew she couldn't be left alone. She also had trouble working appliances (like the microwave and stove/oven) that should have been in her long-term memory. The ability to answer general questions is called "apparent competency" by the social workers. Also, I'm sure my MIL could tell something was going on with herself so she covered it the best she could. My point is for you to not make any assumptions if you aren't actually checking on her daily and verifying that what she tells you is true. Don't ask your mom, "Do you remember how to work the microwave?" You must insist she demonstrate to you that she remembers how. I wish you all the best and you work on your mom's behalf to help her.
I agree with Midkid. It is simply a sign of aging and if, at 88, this is the only problem, then she is doing really well. People often think that this is indicative of Alzheimer's or other dementia. For instance people guess that if you cannot remember where you put the keys yesterday, then you have dementia. NO, not true. BUT, if you put the keys in the refrigerator and the butter in your drawer, you could be in trouble. As we get olders we often become a bit more anxious about EVERYTHING. And this anxiety can contribute to the short term memory thing as well. We cannot multitask well. That is why occasionally we will forget to turn off the stove after warming up leftovers on a low flame. Or don't close the fridge door well after putting back the milk. The brain tends to concentrate on only one task at a time, so where you used to be able to warm the leftover, put things away and have a great phone conversation with your best friend, that is going to become increasingly problematic.
Aging. At 88, if you are just beginning to see some short term memory loss, consider yourself lucky!
You could have her checked out, but if it's not a big deal, I wouldn't put her through any testing---and most docs are doing telehealth visits only these days.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
If she lives by herself, here is my experience: My husband and I discovered that my MIL had pretty bad memory loss only after her husband went into rehab from a fall and she was in the home alone for the first time in many years. MIL (on the phone) seemed perfectly good, answering general questions like, how are you? what's going on? what do you think about this weather, etc. We were bringing her groceries and meals since we didn't want her to drive. Then one day at a family outing she nearly fainted. Upon inspecting her fridge we discovered rotting food and no sign of her having eaten anything...for a few days. Even after that I'd call her twice a day to ask specifically if she had eaten and what did she actually eat. She'd always name the items. But when I checked in her kitchen, again rotting food and no signs of having eaten. She THOUGHT she had eaten and she'd tell me on the phone what she sincerely thought she ate. At that point we knew she couldn't be left alone. She also had trouble working appliances (like the microwave and stove/oven) that should have been in her long-term memory. The ability to answer general questions is called "apparent competency" by the social workers. Also, I'm sure my MIL could tell something was going on with herself so she covered it the best she could. My point is for you to not make any assumptions if you aren't actually checking on her daily and verifying that what she tells you is true. Don't ask your mom, "Do you remember how to work the microwave?" You must insist she demonstrate to you that she remembers how. I wish you all the best and you work on your mom's behalf to help her.
As we get olders we often become a bit more anxious about EVERYTHING. And this anxiety can contribute to the short term memory thing as well.
We cannot multitask well. That is why occasionally we will forget to turn off the stove after warming up leftovers on a low flame. Or don't close the fridge door well after putting back the milk. The brain tends to concentrate on only one task at a time, so where you used to be able to warm the leftover, put things away and have a great phone conversation with your best friend, that is going to become increasingly problematic.
You could have her checked out, but if it's not a big deal, I wouldn't put her through any testing---and most docs are doing telehealth visits only these days.