MOCEAN’S Weekly Virtual Groups, Kaylee’s Food Fun, Covid-19 & Senior Caregiver Tips, & More!

by Claire Samuels, for Senior Living Blog, A Place for Mom
Many senior centers [and senior day care programs] are closed due to Covid-19, leaving family caregivers more time at home with their loved ones. Here are some activities you can do as a family to stay entertained during social isolation:

1. Sort through keepsakes. Do you have keepsake boxes in your garage or attic that haven’t been opened in years? Dust off old yearbooks and family photos to reminisce together. Laugh about old-fashioned trends, and share stories about your childhoods.

1. Take a virtual trip down memory lane. Google Earth is an amazing way to “travel” during times of social distancing. Try looking up your loved one’s childhood home or the hotel where they spent their honeymoon. If they have old pictures, compare and contrast with the new ones you find. Explore the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas or the colorful coral reefs of the Caribbean.

1. Learn about your family history. Companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe offer at-home testing kits that can trace your genetics back dozens of generations. These results can be a great starting point for conversations about family history. Were the results what you expected?

1. Spring clean. A bright and airy space will make social isolation a little less dreary. If you’ve been meaning to clear out clutter or rearrange rooms, this is a great opportunity to get started. Remember to be careful — save the heavy lifting for when you have help.

1. Put your green thumbs to work. Being outside in nature decreases stress and fosters well-being. Gardening is beneficial to seniors, even if you only have space for a few flower pots. Many hardware stores are still offering curbside delivery, and some community gardens are sending out seeds.

1. Bake. If you’ve spent any time online recently, you know homemade banana bread and sourdough are all the rage. Time-consuming cooking projects aren’t just for millennials to post on social media, though. Does your family have a famous birthday cake recipe or a classic shortbread passed down for generations? You don’t need a special occasion to indulge your sweet tooth these days, and individual cupcakes and cookies freeze well. Just don’t give the grandkids too much sugar!

LET’S TALK COVID
For families, friends and care providers of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The changes we’re experiencing due to the COVID-19 outbreak are hard for everyone, but for people with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD), the suddenness and severity of these changes in daily life can be extremely stressful. The loss of freedom and daily routine can feel like punishment. They don’t feel sick. Everyone else looks fine. Why is everything shutting down?

If you are supporting an individual with IDD who is struggling with the changes taking place, here are some guidelines to individualize according to their age and needs.

USE PLAIN FACTS AND LANGUAGE

• Explain that the virus is new. And because it’s new, there is no vaccine for it, and people can pass it on to others without even knowing it.
• If they want to know more about the virus, explain that it affects people’s lungs and makes it hard to breathe, and that people can pass it to others without feeling sick themselves.
• Explain that schools and businesses are closed, and events are canceled, so that we can keep from spreading this virus and making too many people sick at the same time.
• Reinforce that it’s up to all of us to do what we can to make sure we don’t get each other sick. En- list their help to slow the spread of the virus by staying home, washing hands and surfaces that are touched a lot, and keeping a distance from people if they go outside.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t guess. There are lots of resources online and many of them are listed at informingfamilies.org/covid-resources.

HELP CREATE A NEW ROUTINE

• No school or work. Activities canceled. Taking action can help offset feelings of helplessness, frustration, depression and anger.
• Provide support to create a new routine together. Make it visible. Fill it with things to do that they choose and have control over. Add new activities that you learn about online as more opportunities spring up.
• Support connections with friends and family through technology, such as FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Facebook, Zoom, texting and phone calls. Find ways to reinforce that relationships with other people have not changed, even if the connection looks different for now.

BE REASSURING

Life may be different for many months, we are all in this together, and we will all keep looking out for each other. Family, friends, neighbors, services, and helpful people are everywhere.
WANTED …  CRAFT IDEAS!

More “Virtual Craft Workshops” coming soon!  Please submit any craft ideas and suggestions you may have to Sherone.

Sherone.Rogers@moceanscil.org OR (732) 571-4884