Children of aging parents can often face more than what they are initially prepared for.  For instance, when it comes down to communication gaps between medical providers, caregivers and the aging parent and/or parents—there can be a great deal of confusion.  This is a serious stumbling block older children have to learn to overcome without making their elderly loved one feel misplaced out of the conversation. If you can learn strategies to properly communicate with your loved one and their medical care team, you’ll definitely feel less anxiety!

Further, during open communication, the adult child should always allow the parent to freely express their opinions and concerns with medical providers—even if some of these have been addressed previously!  This simply allows your loved one to feel they have some control over their life and retain their dignity and independence.

Let’s closely examine some of the best ways you can communicate well with your parents’ medical care providers most effectively.

Collaborate and Communicate in the Best Way Possible for all Individuals Involved

So, once again, you want to allow mom or dad the right to make decisions which will best benefit them, but you want to be a part of those choices too.  You want to ensure that the medical staff is accepting of any decisions that will impact health too!  So, the following communication tips might be very helpful to everyone involved with the care plan.

• You should always acknowledge any negative remarks made by your elderly loved one so that the medical team can fully address the issues and you and your loved one can reach a joint resolution you’re both satisfied with!
• Comments should never be dismissed, but rather, fully expressed so that your loved one’s opinion about their care can be fully addressed. All parties should listen intently, even when complaints are being made (as mentioned previously).  This can help put fears at bay and trust can develop.
• Pay attention to verbal cues and body language of your loved one. Make it a point that the medical team is aware of these changes too.  This will help minimize the risks of your parent feeling isolated or ignored. 
• Verbal expression or any level of unresponsiveness by your loved one should give all pause to consider what, if any concerns there might be. Some elderly patients are afraid to fully speak up, so verbal expression is very important to pay attention to.
• Host a care plan meeting so that all involved in the care management will have a voice and be heard. Once every couple of weeks is a great plan to have!
• You should always interact with all medical staff that has a role in your parent’s care plan. This will allow the adult child to learn exactly how to manage the care treatment.
• Organize, manage and update concerns and questions regularly so that you’ll be prepared for future care management meetings.

The caregiver is an intricate part of a loved one’s care team!  You should try you best to offer new insights at care management meetings, with your loved one present!  Effective communication and interaction like this guarantees the care plan continues in the proper way and that your loved one will continue with the best care plan possible for them, as an individual!

Never forget that proper care always comes down to the people involved!  The more you can discover about the medical team, the more effective communication can become.  Also, this will allow you to feel more competent in your role and more secure in your decisions you make for the care of your aging loved one!