This post is sponsored by Clearday at Home™. All opinions and statements are my own.
Do You Need Clearday At Home?
Clearday at Home is a monthly membership service providing an interactive platform for dementia care recipients and their caregivers to feel confident in providing care at home.
I introduced this product to you in an earlier blog post called ‘Traditional Day Programs Pivoting to Provide Support Options for Caregivers.’ But, I was curious about the content in this platform, so Clearday offered me a free trial of their Digital product to check it out and share my findings with you.
The Setup Process
The entire setup process took just over 30 minutes of my time. I was glad to see and hear that dementia caregivers anywhere in the U.S. can get quick support and resources without leaving their homes. There was a little bit of waiting time for them to customize my Care Plan. I didn’t mind waiting since my preference would be to have the content personalized for my situation. I broke the setup process out into three steps.
Step one: Schedule a Complimentary Virtual Appointment
Digitally requesting and scheduling the initial Caregiver Consultation/BEST test took a few minutes to complete. I always appreciate when I can self-serve the scheduling versus emailing someone or calling for an appointment. The online calendar system even showed same-day appointments and clearly outlined what to expect during the call. I could have used the same procedure if I needed to reschedule.
Tip: You’ll want to schedule your complimentary appointment at an optimal time that is quiet in your house and when you anticipate your care recipient can reliably engage for 30 minutes.
Step two: Meet with the Cognitive Care Expert on Zoom
For product review purposes, I played the roles of both the care recipient and the family caregiver.
The Cognitive Care Expert was warm and personable. His name was John, and through our consultation, I found out his favorite artist is also Prince and loves dogs. He let me know upfront that the appointment would consist of time with the care recipient and the caregiver to confirm answers to personal questions and learn more about the overall caregiving situation. His goal was to establish a Clearday at Home pathway for both the care recipient and the caregiver. John called their care recipient assessment the BEST Test. This test concentrated on four essential elements: Behavior Engagement Stimulation Temperament. Here is a portion of my BEST Test with John:
I also had to follow directions from what he wrote on a piece of paper (‘show a big smile’) and draw the below object based on his verbal cues.
I answered a few personal questions about my health, marital status, address, and areas of interest. John even asked me what time of day I preferred to engage in activities, if I didn’t enjoy doing something, and if I liked trying new things. By the way, spelling backward and remembering three objects mentioned earlier in a conversation gave me the most pause. Thankfully, I passed the test!
After John completed his questions for me as the care recipient, we pivoted to the caregiver questions. He wanted to gather details such as:
- Our routines
- What caregiving concerns I had (i.e., wandering, medication management, bathing)
- My stress level number on a scale of 0-10
- Topics for which I could use more support and resources
I didn’t feel like any of the questions were too personal or unrelated to the overall goal of obtaining enough information to recommend a Clearday At Home Pathway for both the care recipient and caregiver.
Step three: Review the Personalized Care Plan.
About two days later, I received the six-page personalized Care Plan via an email with a PDF attachment. Page one reiterated the purpose of the BEST Test and offered a way to schedule a complimentary consultation to review the Care Plan with a Cognitive Care Expert.
Before receiving my Care Plan, I had to secure a credit card payment to process a month of the Digital plan.
Page two and three highlighted the Pathway for the Care Recipient. It explained that this is the initial Care Plan for the next 30 days and reiterated the benefits of incorporating recommended Clearday at Home activities, lessons, and services. Clearday at Home recommended the ‘Avocado Green’ Pathway for the care recipient since I am in good physical shape but could use more cognitive stimulation. A sidebar box highlighted that I, as the caregiver, should encourage more standing activities in the morning and daily brain games for mental stimulation. The notes also included sample verbiage to increase engagement. In summary, here is the recommended weekly guide for the care recipient:
- Mind: 30 minutes of Brain Games and one Arts & Craft activity
- Body: Upper & Lower Body Workout (2x) & Yoga/Breathing Exercise (1x)
- Soul: Reminisce & Relax (2x) & one live social activity
Page five and six of the Care Plan focus on the family caregiver. Page five provided tips to maximize success and helped manage my expectations. This platform won’t work by itself. It will require consistency, enthusiasm, and some participation on my part. The Caregiver Pathway suggests specific videos, events, and activities to target my challenge areas based on the feedback I provided in the assessment with John.
In summary, here is the recommended weekly caregiver guide:
It’s affirming to see that I would have access to live events and an interactive support group without even having to leave the house. One-on-one coaching is also available for an individual session fee.
Clearday At Home in Action
When I logged into the Digital platform, the two pathways were apparent. One said ‘For You,’ and one said ‘For Mom.’ I first explored the care recipient activities.’
Lessons for the Care Recipient
When I first went into ‘For Mom,’ I saw the summary of the monthly activity guide, and on the right, I could see the Series Details. When I selected Continue, I was taken to Week 1 – Day 1 of the Avocado Green Pathway. I was not searching for what I needed to do; it was all laid out for me under headings for Mind, Body, & Soul.
First, I played the 12-minute ‘Guess the Jingle’ where I had to recall theme songs for popular TV shows of the 1960s, including The Addams Family, Star Trek: The Original Series, Gilligan’s Island, and Bewitched. I missed the one for Get Smart! It was fun to recall my childhood memories since many of these shows were still very popular in the 1970s.
For my physical activity, I took the 18-minute ‘Instruments from All Around the World’ class. The two instructors demonstrated two options – standing and sitting – and moved right along with me. I appreciated that they made it enjoyable by dressing up and matching the subtle background music with the instrument. As you can see, we moved our bodies while stimulating our brains:
From the Clearday at Home’s Soul theme, Deserie shared ‘Historical Events From the Past – The Zimmerman Telegram.’ This critical 1917 telegram intercepted from British Intelligence helped gain US citizen and congress support for World War I. There was also a funny ‘Just for Laughs’ video that highlighted harmless pranks done on people. It reminded me of watching ‘Candid Camera’ episodes with my family.
Once I completed the lessons I wanted to do, I marked the lesson complete. The next time I logged in, Week 1, Day 2 was ready to go.
After completing my daily lessons, I searched through the content over the next four weeks of my Digital members. Activities were covering a wide range of categories. Some of the options included:
- Trivia and memory games
- Relaxing devotional music
- Arts and crafts
- Documentaries and musicals
- Yoga and breathing
- Seasonal meals
- Leg and balance workouts
- Museum and Aquarium tours
- Storytelling and Reminiscing
I can see the value of having all this content curated for a loved one with dementia and personalized for the preferences and abilities shared during the initial consultation and BEST Test.
Lessons for the Caregiver
Next, I reviewed the daily recommendations listed under the ‘For You’ menu.
I watched the overview and first lesson of the “7 Steps to Caregiving Success” series. Lesson one focused on ‘The Big Picture’ and used everyday analogies to explain how complicated dementia is and why we see changes in our loved ones. One of the videos was an interesting four-minute animated film to illustrate the changes in the brain.
I also checked out a recorded ‘Ask Me Anything Webinar’ with Christin, the Director of Education and Certified Dementia Trainer. In this one-hour session, she answered questions like:
- How do I encourage my mom with dementia, who is home alone while I’m at work, to do something besides watch tv?
- How do I get my dad to accept professional assistance so I can have more help?
- How do I prevent my mom from repeating the same questions?
- Are there supplements I could give my parent to boost immunity and keep their brain healthy?
Licensed care expert, Christin, gave thorough advice and tips for each member’s question. Christin mentioned she has over 25 years of experience working in this field. She spoke about many of the tools I often share as a Certified Caregiving Consultant, such as acceptance and redirection. Her answers often supplied specific phrases to use to diffuse a situation or address a behavior.
How Much Does Clearday At Home Cost?
Clearday At Home offers two membership options: Digital and Clearday Living Virtual. Neither of these options requires a contract. For this post, I focused on Digital membership.
The Digital membership costs $149/month and includes:
- personalized daily activities
- access to the core activity library
- caregiver training and education programs
- weekly live support groups
If you are looking for even more support and resources, the Clearday Living Virtual package for $499/month includes all of the above features of Digital, plus:
- three monthly caregiver coaching sessions
- monthly cognitive assessments and expert consultation
- live weekly socials
- premium content and courses
Note: Clearday At Home also offers anyone an á-la-carte 45-minute virtual Caregiver Coaching session with a certified Dementia expert for $75.
If you are interested in trying this product yourself, Clearday At Home is offering the Happy Healthy Caregiver community 10% off one month of membership. Click here to get started and use invite code HHC10.
