Alzheimer’s disease is known to have a significant influence on language. The disease impacts speech and the ability to correctly use words, as well as the comprehension of words. As the disease continues into later stages, language as a way of socializing will become less effective, and family members may need to utilize differing Alzheimer’s communication strategies to connect with their loved one.
The Michigan home health care experts at Compassionate Care Home Health Services provide the ideas below to help in Alzheimer’s communication and comprehension:
- Learn to create a ‘kind voice’ – lower, slower, smiling.
- Treat the senior as an adult with the utmost respect and do all you can to be patient, kind, flexible, supporting and peaceful.
- Make certain there are limited potential distractions such as the television or radio, and be sure to make eye contact.
- To help ground the individual and get his or her focus, call the senior by name and tell the person who you are, even if you are the child or spouse.
- Utilize short, simple sentences and ask easy-to-answer questions such as, “Would you like beef or chicken?” instead of, “What do you want for dinner?”
- Never argue or try to change the person’s mind, even if you think the senior’s request is unreasonable.
- Repeat information and questions. If the individual does not answer, wait a moment for the person to think through what you’re saying. Then ask again.
- Pay attention to the feelings, not the facts, as often the emotions being shown are more important than what is being said.
- Let the person think about and describe whatever he or she wants. If the senior says the wrong word or cannot think of a word, try guessing the correct one. If you still can’t uncover what is being said, ask him or her to point or gesture.
The team at Compassionate Care, a leading home care agency in Saginaw, MI, is highly skilled in sensitive Alzheimer’s and dementia care. Our caregivers know how to gently encourage and mentally stimulate a person with Alzheimer’s disease, keeping him or her safe in the comfort of home. Not only can Compassionate Care provide respite care to allow family caregivers a necessary break from care, but we can also coordinate community services as needed, such as adult day centers for Alzheimer’s, offer overnight care to help manage some of the more challenging issues of the disease (such as sundowning), and so much more. Contact us today at 877.308.1212 to learn more about Alzheimer’s and dementia care services that Saginaw, MI and the surrounding communities can depend on.