There are many issues to keep in mind when considering an out-of-home option for an individual who can no longer manage living independently. Concerns about cost, quality of care, and safety will be large factors in your decision-making.

The following series of questions may help you choose a facility and evaluate its services. Please take the checklist with you when you go to visit prospective sites.

Feel free to make extra copies if you are going to evaluate several Adult Family Homes, Assisted Living facilities, and Nursing Homes or Memory Care facilities.

It’s important to be honest about your loved one’s present needs and when visiting different settings try to mentally picture them in that environment. While some settings may visually appeal to you and offer a myriad of enticing choice activities, your loved one may feel overwhelmed or overstimulated by these choices, and rather retreat away from the hustle and bustle of it all. While intended to benefit the individual and enhance their life experience, it may end up backfiring and leaving your loved one feeling more alone and lonelier than ever. Other settings such as Nursing Homes or Rehab facilities may have on site nurses and state of the art equipped physical therapy rooms but your loved one may not need routine nursing services and when it comes to therapy time, may only cooperate when allowed to set their own flexible schedule or after several encouraging attempts daily.

Questions to ask yourself are: Does my loved one do well in large group activities, or does he/she do better with one-on-one, does he/she feel more comfortable in small groups, can he/she follow a conversation in a large group setting, is he/she self-initiating, is he/she a social butterfly that needs and can follow a busy activity schedule (classes, shows, games, group chats, etc.), is he/she able to get to and from or request assistance to get to and from activities or will he/she feel lost, overstimulated, anxious, or refuse to participate in given activity? Does your loved one navigate changes with ease or does it cause him/her anxiety if a new caregiver helps or fills in who may not follow the same routine or structure each day or may not know all your loved one’s preferences, details, and habits?

Pending on your answers, you will be able to visualize what setting will best support your loved one to thrive despite of his/her disability and where will your loved one feel like he/she “belongs” to that community.