Aides

A few aides here have told me I'm the nicest person here. Of course, if most people here are elderly, maybe lonely, maybe ill, maybe in pain, maybe even dying, being the "nicest" may not be saying much. Some people here probably have good excuses for not being especially nice. For my part, I try to be pleasant enough, but I suspect the aides like me because I keep my demands on them to a minimum. I go along with them when they're working with me, even if another approach would be simpler for me, and I only use the call button when I need to go to the bathroom.

I would approach the aides in my own home in much the same way. Maximizing personal independence, for me, involves lots of private time, when I can do as I choose. In fact, most days I'd only need an aide at specific times-- in the morning helping me get up, at mealtimes, later in the evening, and usually once during the night. How an agency would schedule my aides, I'm not sure, but the people would have plenty of free time of their own.