We live in a very mobile society where families don’t always live in same town or even state for that matter. Unlike “old days”, entire families throughout America don’t have opportunity to come together every week for a Saturday BBQ or Sunday dinner. Which is why upcoming holiday season is such a busy travel time - families still cherish togetherness and holiday season is often only time of year they can do so.

It is not uncommon for adult children of seniors to have some concerns about how their parents are doing. This year while you’re enjoying companionship of your family and catching up on lost time, make good use of your visit to review your aging parents’ and loved ones’ living status.

Many holiday traditions tempt your five senses. These five senses can also be used to evaluate status of elderly family members. Families often overlook a variety of warning signs such as forgetfulness, lack of house cleaning or a decrease in physical appearance by writing them off to “old age”. Below is a checklist using each of your five senses that lists key indicators or warning signs to help determine if your family members are in need of additional care or assistance:

SIGHT - Looking at senior’s appearance can be a sign that they are being limited either physically or mentally from completing otherwise normal daily tasks. Are they wearing clothing with food stains? Is their hair completely combed?

Do their teeth appear clean?

Does she continue to wear makeup?

How do their shoes look?

Is house orderly and clean?

SOUND – Listening to what and how seniors speak can tell you a lot about their current mental status. Don’t assume that “old age” is causing these problems; doing so can sometimes cause their mental state to decrease further. Do they call you by name?

Are they speaking normally?

Are they up on news?

Have they continued their outside activities?

Do they have future plans or goals?

If not, could they be depressed?

SMELL – Using your nose as an indicator can help you determine if your family member is bathing properly, participating in otherwise normal activities (cleaning their house), or whether or not they are eating regularly (if they have spoiled food in their kitchen).

Does their living environment possess any unpleasant odors?

Does refrigerator or cupboards smell?

Are plants thriving?

Is there an unusual amount of garbage, clutter, dust, or dirt?

TASTE – Tasting their food and sorting through their medications can help you determine if they are eating healthy or even worse, taking expired medicine.

Do they have fresh and stocked pantry items?

Look at expiration dates. How does food taste?

Does person appear to move around kitchen safely?

Are there many different prescriptions?

Do medications come from different doctors or pharmacies?

What about expiration dates on medications?

TOUCH – A simple hug could tell you that your family member is fragile, losing weight and putting him or herself in jeopardy of injury or even malnourishment from not eating properly.

Do they appear healthy?

Touch their skin - is it soft, supple and is color normal?

Do they have unusual tearing or bruising of skin?

Are they losing weight?

Though many are familiar with roles of guide dogs, assistance animals enrich human lives in ways that almost defy imagination. Their contributions are vast and varied. Therapy animals have been documented as lowering blood pressure, anxiety and distress in humans. They have frequently been used in hospitals, nursing homes, even mental institutions. They are also used in disaster situations. In September 11 tragedy, many victims and rescue workers at World Trade Center found comfort and solace in therapy dogs that were sometimes able to connect with humans more directly than human counselors. The duties they performed at Ground Zero put a new perspective on this type of therapy.

Such animals work with abused and traumatized children or help disabled learn motor skills everyday. Sometimes therapy is induced by simple petting or companionship that an animal can offer, but other forms are more specific. Equitherapy is a form of therapy assisted by horses that means “treatment with help of a horse.” In equitherapy, horse helps rider rather than traditional activity in which rider controls movements of horse. The freedom of being on a horse can simply help by inspiring confidence with control such movement can induce. The rhythmic and repetitive motion of a horse’s gait provides other sensory benefits. The Therapeutic Riding Center of Israel has an indoor riding arena of 2000 square meters and a professional staff that includes physiotherapists and certified, experienced riding instructors. Professional doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, and educational advisors supervise staff. More information on their program can be found at http://www.trci.org.il. Even capuchin monkeys have been trained to assist quadriplegic individuals. Quadriplegics have limited or no control over their arms and legs. These monkeys not only help such individuals relieve loneliness such a predicament can produce, but they can perform simple tasks such as turning on and off lights or getting something to eat. Helping Hands is an incredible organization at http://www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org/ which charges no fees for performing such services. On a darker note, while one would be foolish to make claim that a dislike of animals is a reflection of a criminal mind, psychologists have noted a disturbing link between animal cruelty and violence against humans. In fact, standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders used by psychiatrists and psychologists lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders. A recent scientific study actually documents link between animal cruelty and human violence and concludes that offenders of violent crimes are significantly more likely to have abused pets and stray animals in their childhood than non-violent criminals. University of South Florida professor Kathleen Heide and animal welfare expert Linda Merz-Perez came to this conclusion after an examination of a random sample of approximately 100 male violent and non-violent inmates at a maximum-security facility.