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Hello Brain • Brain Health
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Learning new ways to communicate

Learning new ways to communicate

People with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias may experience progressive language impairment, both in expressing and understanding language. The impairment will vary from person to person and from day-to-day. The degree of impairment experienced may depend on the type of dementia, its severity, side effects of medications, and whether the person is experiencing pain, discomfort, another illness or infection.

The good news is that there are ways to improve communication with the person with dementia, which can help to minimise stress, improve the quality of your relationship and equip you with tools to better handle challenging behaviour.

Below are some things that you can do and things that you can avoid to improve communication.

Do:

  • Use non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expression, tone of voice, and physical touch to create a positive mood and convey feelings of affection. Also, it’s good to watch out for non-verbal cues from the person with dementia.

 

  • Convey messages clearly, and one at a time. Use simple words and short sentences. Speak slowly and clearly. Repeat your message if the person did not understand the first time. Be specific – use the names of people and places instead of pronouns. Ask simple questions (e.g. yes/no questions), and one at a time.

 

  • Use visual prompts and cues when possible. For instance, when dressing the person, instead of asking them what they want to wear, present them with some options to choose between. If the person forgets how to accomplish a task, or part of a task, show, rather than tell, them how to do it.

 

  • Talk about the past – people with dementia can remember things in the distant past much more clearly than recent events, and talking about the past soothes them and engenders positive emotions. Ask them general questions about their past.

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  • Acknowledge and directly address their feelings. People with dementia often get confused and may misinterpret situations, or recall or say things that are incorrect – however the feelings that they are experiencing as a result are real. Acknowledge their feelings (e.g. “I see you’re feeling sad”) and try to comfort and reassure them verbally and with physical touch (e.g. give them a hug or hold their hand).

 

  • Provide reassurance verbally and with non-verbal cues. People with dementia often feel confused and anxious.

 

  • Focus the person’s attention by minimizing distractions and noise, address them by name and identify yourself by name and relation. Maintain eye contact.

 

  • If the person becomes upset, distract them and redirect their attention. However, first acknowledge their feelings. Then suggest, for instance, going out for a walk or that they help you with a chore.

 

  • Keep your sense of humour and use humour as much as possible. The social skills of people with dementia tend to be retained, and humour can be a great way to improve communication and make it more positive.

 

Avoid:

  • Raising your voice higher or louder
  • Giving the person too many choices
  • Speaking fast
  • Asking open-ended or complex questions
  • Asking questions that depend on short-term memory
  • Trying to ground them in reality or convince them that they are wrong if they misinterpret a situation or recall something incorrectly
  • Confrontation or blaming

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