Are you caring for someone living with Dementia? If so, we want you to know that you’re not alone and we understand the challenges you’re facing.
Our MD Jo Bonser has lived experience helping to support her Mum for over six years living at home with Vascular Dementia.
Jo told us:
‘You may feel overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted and you don’t know where to turn for help and support, and I know, only too well, just how that feels. You need to know that there can be a meaningful life after a dementia diagnosis and I firmly believe that for people living with dementia:
Behind every behaviour, there is a feeling.
And beneath each feeling is a need.
And when we meet the need rather than focusing on the behaviour, we begin to deal with the cause and not the symptom’
In our latest blog, we look at the challenges that surround communication for people who live with dementia
Dementia can affect a person’s ability to remember and understand basic everyday facts, such as names, dates and places. The ability to process information may deteriorate over time, so a response to questions can be delayed. Eventually, they may struggle to convey what they want to say or to understand others.
Communication problems may arise because of:
- Impaired speech
- Comprehension
- Hearing
- Vision
- Physical sensation
This can lead to:
- Challenging behaviour,
- frustration,
- increased risk of malnutrition and dehydration,
- incidents of incontinence.
Our top tips to manage communication with a person with dementia:
- Stand or sit where the person can see and hear you as clearly as possible.
- Speak clearly and calmly.
- Use short simple sentences.
- Allow time between sentences for the person to process the information and respond.
- Include the person in conversations with others, don’t speak as though they’re not there. This was one of my Mum’s pet hates!
- Prompts can help, ie pointing at a photo or encouraging the person to hold and interact with an object.
Helping a person with dementia with communication problems can be challenging.
Here are our top recommended dementia enabling product solutions that will help with communication are:
Orientation boards are a great way to display information people need – the time, day and date, the time of the year, what the weather is like and any noteworthy birthdays or events.
Communication books with clear concise images of day to day life or common scenarios for when communication is difficult.
Dementia clocks are extremely easy to understand and will help to prevent some of the serious issues caused by disorientation.
Communication is just one of the topics we cover in our brand new resource Living Well with Dementia, a holistic guide to help make life more meaningful for people living with dementia.
Jo wanted to write a guide to help others also caring for someone living with dementia, based on her personal experience and having also been asked many times by care professionals for a guide following the success of her Dignified Dining Solutions Guide – to help people with dementia eat better.
Always remember:
‘Don’t approach the challenges that come along with dementia with dread. Instead, think positive and find a solution.’ – Bob DeMarco
Image Source: Unsplash