Is your elderly loved one struggling with dementia-related communication issues? For example, do you find that your elderly loved one is taking longer to respond to you. If so, it is likely caused by the changes that are happening with their brain. While there isn’t a way to cure dementia right now, there are some dementia-related communication tips that could help you and your elderly loved one and their in-home care aides.
Use the Power of Time
The dementia diagnosis is there and the disease will get worse over time. However, if your elderly loved one is still in the earlier stages of this disease, they likely still have some communication skills present. It just may take them some time to figure out what you are saying and to grasp how they are supposed to respond. Even if they have lost some of their ability to communicate, giving them time to respond can take the stress off from them, so they can respond with less pressure.
Hearing Loss Issues
There are many elderly people who have hearing loss, even if they don’t have dementia. With this being said, there are also many people who have a dementia diagnosis who have hearing loss that arises after the disease comes up. If this is the case for your elderly loved one, when you are communicating with them, be sure to keep the noises in the background to a minimum. In addition, if you can’t hear your elderly loved one very well, do your best to stand in front of them and nearby, so you can hear better. If needed, an in-home care provider may have better experience with this issue and be able to help your elderly loved one to communicate.
Focus on Responses
If your elderly loved one is having a difficult time communicating with you, it may be best to focus on how they are responding. For example, if your elderly loved one gets angry when you suggest having someone come over to their house, you may want to take this as a sign that visitors aggravate them right now. It may be better to have the person visit another time, when your elderly loved one isn’t so on edge. If you need to see the person that was supposed to come over, you can always have an in-home care provider keep an eye on your elderly loved one while you go somewhere else to visit them.
In-Home Care Providers can Help
These are some of the dementia-related communication tips that will hopefully help you and your elderly loved one to communicate better. As you know, there isn’t a cure to dementia at this time. However, there are tips that can help you to better handle the issues that come up with this disease.
Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/caregivers/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20047540