Nine Steps to Respite Care for Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease

Caregivers of family members with dementia including Alzheimer’s disease (D/AD) may face special challenges. Sometimes, individuals with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease have unique physical, emotional and behavioral conditions that require specialized care. For example, memory, decision-making abilities, and behavior associated with D/AD change over time. This results in changing roles within the family and the need for more intensive levels of care. Providing care can be complicated and challenging and will require careful planning.

It is important for you to be aware of a resource called respite care. Respite services can provide you with a much-needed break away from your caregiving responsibilities and this fact sheet can help you find and use respite.