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10 Tips to Effectively Communicate with Someone with Dementia-1213 10 Tips to Effectively Communicate with Someone with Dementia-1213

10 Tips to Effectively Communicate with Someone with Dementia

10 Tips to Effectively Communicate with Someone with Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias gradually diminish a person’s ability to communicate, which can be challenging. A family member or friend with dementia may have difficulty understanding you, and you may have a hard time understanding what he or she is trying to communicate. There’s potential for misunderstanding, confusion or frustration in both directions — making communication even more difficult. Communication with a person with Alzheimer’s requires patience, understanding and good listening skills. The strategies below can help both you and the person with dementia understand each other better. Every person’s experience of dementia is unique, so not every tip may be helpful to the person you care for. Use the tips that you feel will improve communication between you.

1.  Recognize what you’re up against. Dementia inevitably gets worse with time. People with dementia will gradually have a more difficult time understanding others, as well as communicating in general.

2.  Avoid distractions. Try to find a place and time to talk when there aren’t a lot of distractions present. This allows your loved one to focus all their mental energy on the conversation.

3. Speak clearly and naturally in a warm and calm voice. Refrain from ‘babytalk’ or any other kind of condescension.

4.  Refer to people by their names. Avoid pronouns like “he,” “she,” and “they” during conversation. Names are also important when greeting a loved one with dementia. For example: “Hi, Grandma.  It’s me, Jeff,” is to be preferred over, “Hi. It’s me.”

5. Talk about one thing at a time. Someone with dementia may not be able to engage in the mental juggling involved in maintaining a conversation with multiple threads.

6. Use nonverbal cues. For example, maintain eye contact and smile. This helps put your loved one at ease and will facilitate understanding. And when dementia is very advanced, nonverbal communication may be the only option available.

7. Listen actively. If you don’t understand something your loved one is telling you, politely let them know.

8. Don’t quibble. Your conversations are not likely to go very far if you try to correct every inaccurate statement your loved one makes. It’s okay to let delusions and misstatements go.

9.  Have patience. Give your loved one extra time to process what you say. If you ask a question, give a moment to respond. Don’t let frustration get the better of you.

10.  Understand there will be good days and bad days. While the general trend of dementia sufferers is a downward decline, people with dementia will have ups and downs just like anyone else.

For more information on  The Arbors memory care SafeCare Neighborhood, click here.

Come in for a personalized tour of SafeCare Neighborhood at The Arbors at Islandia

George Starkesen-1
George Starkesen

“The best part of The Arbors are the people, the programs and the independence. I take daily walks around the neighborhood”

Doris Crotty-2
Doris Crotty

“I like the programs offered, they keep me busy and engaged. I love living here”

Dolores McCrone-3
Dolores McCrone

“I’ve made The Arbors my home and I am very content”

Josephine Foschino-4
Josephine Foschino

“I love making new friends and enjoying life”

Gladys Bischoff-5
Gladys Bischoff

“I love my beautiful room and all my friends”

Diane-6
Diane

“The life of a caregiver is truly very difficult, and with no training, I’m just a daughter, I made it work, but it got to be too much. It was a very difficult decision to have my mom move here. The folks here made my transition very easy, very helpful, very friendly, the staff is great. It was just a real comfort to me when I left. I felt that my mom was in really good hands.  I have such peace of mind knowing that my mom is being well taken care of at The Arbors.”

Tom-7
Tom

“You can go home and sleep at night knowing your loved one is being taken care of. I am grateful to call The Arbors home for my father-in-law.”

Joan-8
Joan

“Living at The Arbors has changed my life completely. I am in a new world.  When I started to fall last year, and had to be rushed to the hospital, I was scared. I didn’t want to leave my home. But I’ve made a lot of friends here. It’s a big family. Arbors makes it very comfortable for me. The staff are great, they would take you to the moon if they could. I say my prayers every night and thank God for finding this place for me.”

Elaine-9
Elaine

“I love my apartment at The Arbors. It’s just enough space for me to relax. I spend my days socializing with my new friends in the shared spaces, so my home actually got bigger, not smaller.”

Helen-10
Helen

“Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and some are gold…Over eight years, I’ve made a lot of friends, new ones, old ones, and I’ve enjoyed all of them immensely. I guess coming into a place like this, you wonder who’s going to be a friend, but then you find so many friends, whether they’re residents or staff. My favorite part about The Arbors is the people that I’ve met, they take good care of me.”

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