What Questions Will They Ask about Assisted Living?

When family are trying to choose an RAL they will likely ask a ton of questions to you and your manager/staff. However you should also engage and develop further dialogue with your potential residents by asking them questions as well. This post is geared to family discussing with their senior family members:

Questions can get right to the heart of just about any matter. When you’re talking about assisted living, whether it’s with your elderly mother, father, grandparent, spouse, or other aging loved one, the topic can be sensitive.

Yet, by asking questions, you can dig deeper and possibly even get beyond certain built-in resistance some people may have to various topics, like assisted living.

Did you know that assisted living is one of the best elder care options available to aging men and women? Too many people, though, have the wrong idea about what this elder care topic is really all about.

That’s why asking questions can cause you to dig a little bit deeper and help this aging senior get beyond whatever preconceived notions they may already have in place.

Let’s give a few examples of questions you might ask this elderly person in your life, especially if they are having difficulty at home on their own, even if they are dependent upon you or somebody else at this stage in their life. Keep in mind that assisted living is truly one of the best elder care options available to aging men and women throughout the United States.

Potential Question #1: What do you miss most in life?

They might immediately say their spouse, the love of their life, or even their job that they had to retire from many years ago. What this question should really be getting at, though, are the everyday things, spending time with friends, playing card games, playing golf, going for walks, conversation, and so forth.

When you dig down deep, you will realize that even though a person might be in their late 70s, 80s, or 90s, they aren’t just waiting around for the end of their life; they want to live a quality life and they want to continue living that now.

When they begin expressing those things they miss, you may realize assisted living could be the elder care option that allows them to return to some of those things.

Potential Question #2: What do you know about assisted living?

A lot of people have misconceptions about this elder care option. They associate it with other types of senior care and immediately stop all conversation about it because of those misconceptions.

When a person has to confront a question like this, they have to dig in and figure out what they really believe about it, and many seniors ultimately discover they only knew myths and misconceptions, not the reality of it.

Potential Question #3: How often do you miss your friends?

A lot of seniors miss friends often. Even though their friends might not be at a specific assisted living facility, there may be some they haven’t seen in a while. They will also have an opportunity to forge new friendships, new bonds, and new relationships if they choose assisted living for their future.

Potential Question #4: Is there anything you’d do differently if you had the choice?

This can certainly feel like a loaded question, but it hints at regret and the one thing people of advancing years don’t want to deal with is more regret, especially if they realize five or 10 years from now just how beneficial assisted living is.

Help them realize that now, before they look back and wish they knew now what they could know then.