For all of us, not just someone with
dementia, the ability to communicate and express our needs is of utmost
importance. In order for someone with dementia to have a good relationship with
a care partner, healthy and frequent communication is a key ingredient. If your
loved one with dementia begins to lose social skills, he or she might become
more withdrawn or isolated. As the person without dementia, you are the one
capable of understanding and changing your approach when it comes to
communication. If your loved one with dementia is having increased difficulty
communicating, capitalize on what skills remain to compensate for any lost
abilities. Think about what has changed and what is preserved.
Below are some simple strategies to help encourage communication
and connect with your loved one with dementia more effectively:
Always speak
respectfully using adult language. As a
professional care partner, refrain from using childlike speech and always treat
a person with dementia as an adult. There are other ways to convey
affection without disparaging the person with dementia. Smile, address the
person by name, and shake his or her hand instead.
Keep the
pitch of your voice low. Sometimes when a person doesn’t immediately
understand, we have a habit of speaking louder to get our point across. Raising
your voice only distorts speech and will more often than not upset the person
being spoken to. To keep communication from getting difficult, speak in a warm,
friendly manner.
Be aware of
body and facial gestures and expressions. People with dementia pay attention to
nonverbal messages of all kinds. Use these effectively to further encourage
communication. The opposite is also true. As a care partner, pay attention to
your partner’s body and facial gestures as well. Their nonverbal messages will
communicate what they are not able to communicate verbally. In addition, eye to
eye contact represents that their attention is focused on you.
Keep the
conversation going. When speaking to someone with dementia, it is up to you to keep
the conversation going. Introduce topics that he or she is familiar with or
enjoys to talk about. Do not worry about their responses, just be happy to
engage with them.
Do not
ignore rambling. Remember that rambling speech is a form of communication too. Even
if it seems like gibberish, listen for key words and pay attention to any form
of nonverbal communication.
Avoid
arguing, quizzing, or confronting. Having conversations that include these types
of communication will often make the person angry or confused. Accept person
with dementia’s values, beliefs, and reality. Doing so will reduce negative
communication.
Use a prompt
to get the conversation going. A prompt as simple as eye contact or saying
the person’s name is an easy way to get their attention. When giving an
instruction, be very specific and demonstrate exactly what you would like the
person to do.
By combining all
of these strategies, your loved one with dementia will want to participate in
conversations more and as a result be a happier individual.
© Jennifer Brush, may not be reprinted or distributed without
permission
