Contents:
- Medical Video: Caregiver Training: Agitation and Anxiety | UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Program
- How do you communicate when treating dementia?
- 1. Take care of your own mood
- 2. Focus on you
- 3. Speak clearly
- 4. Ask simple questions that are easy to answer
- 5. Listen with your ears, eyes and heart
Medical Video: Caregiver Training: Agitation and Anxiety | UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Program
Caring for dementia is not an easy thing. They are often difficult to remember and do not communicate fluently with others. Dementia can even cause changes in a person's mood and can change a person's personality and behavior. Fatigue and hopelessness may have been felt by someone who treats a person with dementia and that might include you.
How do you communicate when treating dementia?
One of the things that might often make you feel tired is the difficulty of communicating with someone who has dementia. You must know that not only you feel depressed, but also those who experience dementia feel that no one can understand them.
Improving communication skills will help you improve the quality of relationships with people you love. Good communication skills with someone who has dementia will also make it easier for you to deal with behaviors that are sometimes difficult for you to understand when you are treating dementia people.
How do you communicate for those of you who are currently treating dementia? Check out the following five tips.
1. Take care of your own mood
Did you know that your attitude and body language communicate your feelings and thoughts more strongly than words? If you want to communicate with someone who has dementia, make sure your mood is good and positive, talk in a fun but respectful way.
Use facial expressions, tone of voice, and physical touch to help convey what you want to talk about and show your love for him. This way, you can easily treat dementia people.
Remember, you cannot control other people's moods. However, you can recognize your own mood so that it is always positive.
2. Focus on you
If you want to communicate with a person who has dementia, limit the noise and noise that surrounds you both, for example, turn off the radio or TV, close the window curtain or close the door, you can also move to a quieter room.
Before speaking, make sure you pay attention to it, call it by name, "introduce" yourself by name and specify what your relationship is with him. Use nonverbal gestures and touches to help keep him focused. If he sits, you must equalize height by bending or squatting and maintaining eye contact.
3. Speak clearly
When you care for people with dementia, use simple words and sentences. Speak slowly, clearly, and in a convincing tone. Don't raise your voice higher or harder, you have to lower your voice.
If your parents still don't understand or don't understand when you first speak, use the same words to repeat your "message" or question. If he still doesn't understand, wait a few minutes and repeat what you are talking about or ask. Use the name of a person and place not a pronoun (he, he, they) or abbreviation.
4. Ask simple questions that are easy to answer
Ask one question at a time, if possible with the answer question only or not. For example, "Are you hungry or not?" Instead, "When do you want to eat?"
Don't ask questions that are difficult for them to answer or immediately provide many questions that make them confused.
When asking for his opinion, give clear choices such as, "Want to use a white or blue shirt?" Better still, show the choice, and give a signal also to help clarify your question and get a response.
5. Listen with your ears, eyes and heart
Be patient waiting for answers from those who have dementia. They may be "struggling" to give answers. If you see he wants to give an answer, help to answer it by suggesting words. However, be careful not to urge him to answer right away.
Pay attention to cues such as your loved one's facial expressions and body language, and respond appropriately. Try to always understand it with meanings and feelings when they say a word. When you can communicate, treating people with dementia will be easier.
