COMMUNICATING WITH SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS FROM DEMENTIA

When someone close to you is diagnosed with Dementia, it can be difficult to know what to do or how to approach the situation. When the dementia progresses rapidly, the person tends to forget things more regularly as well as seeming uninterested and unable to participate in a flowing conversation.  This can be daunting when it comes to trying to communicate.

So, here are 10 tips to help facilitate conversation with a loved one suffering from dementia:

1. Ensure you use eye contact with the person as this will make them feel at ease, you may also want to lower yourself to the person’s level and talk to them at a distance, this is to avoid being intimidating.
2. Be patient and calm throughout, ensuring you allow the person plenty of time to respond. Don’t try and interrupt or complete their sentences as this can break the patter of communication and cause confusion.
3. Use things that may jog their memory such as photo albums, music or items they own. This will help them remember things which, in turn, can help facilitate conversation about good memories in their life.
4. Try to stick to one idea at a time, asking easy one-point questions. Try phrasing them in a way that allows for a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, or alternatively, in a way that gives the person choice.
5. Encourage them to join in conversations with others. Sometimes social clubs can be very useful as this encourages them to get out and talk to people more regularly.
6. Speak clearly and slowly using shorter sentences.
7. Don’t patronise a person suffering with Dementia, ensure you are patient and have respect for them at all times. Talking about the person as if they are not there or talking to them as you would a young child are definite no-nos.
8. Ideally get rid of any background noise or distractions such as a loud TV or radio, as noise in the background might make them more confused and they may lose their train of thought.
9. Refer to their name and try to use it as much as possible.
10. Don’t be afraid if there are any silences within the conversation – this can make some people feel awkward, but dementia sufferers usually don’t notice this. Just try and be understanding and perhaps listen to music or watch a film together if the conversation is struggling.

AUTHOR: Chris Salter is from Forest Healthcare