How to make a backyard safer for living with Alzheimer's?

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By Theresa Design Design (Rx) Prescription HerFixitUpLife

Design strategies can help make it safer for your Alzheimer’s loved one to enjoy their backyards.

Are you worried about taking your Alzheimer’s loved one outside in nature, even in your own backyard? You aren’t alone. But there are a few ways to make it less stressful for you and your family.

Before you embark on an outdoor-nature-backyard adventure, let’s talk about physical readiness.

Getting ready.

Make sure your Alzheimer’s loved one is physically able to move around on potentially uneven nature surfaces, and can walk unassisted. If help is needed, make sure to stay be the person’s side while moving. And have a sturdy chair ready before you take your loved one outside, so you may need to head out to get things ready.

Comfortable, supportive shoes are a must for someone with Alzheimer’s enjoying nature, and if you can integrate stretching or something like Tai Chi into the daily routine, to keep muscles active and maintain balance, you’ll be less nervous with your loved one. And your loved one will have greater confidence about physical ability.

This galvanized steel and stained wood planter is visually easy to see, and helps define the yard.

So let’s talk about how to make your yard safer.

Assess

Take an afternoon to review the backyard’s walking paths and repair any cracks or uneven surfaces that could be trip hazards.

Clean up

Remove leaves, acorns, or other Mother Nature mementoes that land on a backyard path.

If you have a backyard deck, make sure the deck is free of any slick algae or wet leaves.

Repair

Repair any locks on gates, and fill in gaps for fences, in case your loved one gets anxious and tries to wander off the property.

Stairs should have a sturdy railing to not only help with balance, but will help define where the steps are located.

Make a walking path.

Define a walking path in the backyard. A circular path is best, so your loved one can’t get lost no matter how large the backyard.

Create a garden.

Create raised garden beds so your loved one can engage in gardening, or if gardening isn’t their preferred hobby, it’s just easier for them to see and enjoy plants and flowers if they are closer to eye level.

If you have more ideas on how to make your backyard more enjoyable for your Alzheimer’s loved one, we’d love to know. Please share below in the comments section.