How to Communicate with Dementia Patients
Dementia is a mental disorder caused by an injury or brain disease that affects a person’s ability to think, remember or recall or behave in a normal manner. The symptoms involve progressive impairment in memory, thinking, and behavior. Initially, your loved ones may forget what they just said or intended to say, they may have trouble choosing the right word to describe a thing or an event, In advanced stages of Dementia, senior loved ones may speak very less, may be unable to recognize you and speak strangely.
Your senior loved ones suffering from Dementia need utmost care and concern to feel better. You can avail of Dementia Care Services from a reputed elder care service in Kolkata. The elder care services in Kolkata provide professional Caregivers who are specially trained to care for Dementia patients. They also have certified Psychotherapists who are experts in treating Dementia Patients to make them feel relaxed and comfortable.
Today, let us focus on how to communicate with Dementia patients to help them lead better and more relaxed life:-
As said earlier, your senior loved one suffering from Dementia sometimes may not be able to recognize you on the first go. Introduce yourself and others by sharing some basic information and explaining how you are related to him or them. You can always keep a photo album handy consisting of pictures of your family and other near and dear ones to help bring back the memories of your senior loved one with Dementia. This will make him/her feel comfortable and secure also after they have clarity on who is talking to them.
You always have to treat Dementia patients with utmost care and patience to make them feel loved and comfortable and see that they can understand what you are trying to convey to them or vice versa. Try to focus on body language more than words because your senior loved one may find it difficult to understand various words. The caregivers are trained to understand the body language and facial expressions of the dementia patients which helps them to carry out an effective conversation with the Dementia patients. You also need to remember that your senior loved one with Dementia still can feel or sense emotions if the tone of the speaker doesn’t match with the words, so by stressing more on the body language you will be able to increase your beloved senior’s ability to understand you better.
Avoid lengthy sentences and ornamental vocabulary with your senior loved one with Dementia. He/she may find it confusing and frustrating because he/she is already struggling with communication due to Dementia. Use simple words and short sentences while speaking with your beloved senior. Don’t forget to pause between sentences to give your senior loved one some time to understand what you are saying. Avoid distractions while holding a conversation with your beloved senior with Dementia. For example, you can turn off the TV, or set your mobile on silent mode while conversing with your senior loved one with Dementia to help them feel comfortable and stay focused on the conversation.
Make a point to spend some time with your senior loved one with Dementia every day. Try to speak with them, Keep them updated about the recent happenings and practice active listening, Nodding and responding to them in validation will make them feel more comfortable and eager to carry out the conversation as they will feel that you are listening to them and want to hear more.