Supporting Those Living with Dementia
What is Dementia?
Dementia is an umbrella term that describes a group of symptoms caused by changes to the brain—and it’s not a normal part of aging. Symptoms can affect memory, thinking, and behavior. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. There are other forms of dementia including Vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Frontotemporal dementia and more.
Many people with dementia symptoms will have a diagnosis of one of these diseases. But many people never receive a formal diagnosis by their doctor. Even without a diagnosis, caring for a loved one with these symptoms requires a different approach.
Dementia Requires a Different Approach
When supporting someone living with dementia, the goal is always to honor the individual—and their independence. That means understanding who they are as a person, how their dementia affects them, what they like to do, and how they can maintain their sense of self.
✅Focus on your loved one’s history, hobbies, likes, and dislikes.
✅Engage with them to help prevent distressed behaviors.
✅Always speak to and treat your loved one as an adult.
✅Encourage independence by focusing on your loved one’s strengths and interests—and what they’re still able to do.
✅Modify activities for their success. It’s about enjoying the process, not just the end result.
✅Understand their capabilities. Only fill in when your loved one is unable to do something.
Ways to Engage Someone with Dementia
Engagement is simply being able to connect with your loved one in meaningful ways. This type of connection is an important part of supporting someone with dementia.
Ideas for how to engage:
⭐Look at photo albums together.
⭐Ask about their life—past jobs, family stories, fond memories.
⭐Do a favorite activity together, like listening to music.
⭐Read aloud to your loved one.
⭐Take care of pets and do household chores together.
💟We don’t just care for a person living with dementia—we care about them. 💟
Preventing and Easing Distressed Behavior
When a person has dementia, it becomes harder to communicate verbally, especially as their disease progresses. Changes to the brain can make it difficult to find the right words to express feelings and needs. It can also be challenging for someone with dementia to understand what others are saying—and even to understand what they’re experiencing.
As the disease progresses, it’s common for people with dementia to exhibit distressed behavior, like agitation, anxiety, anger, rummaging in drawers, or wandering. In many cases, distressed behavior is a form of communication. Usually, this behavior is triggered by something—an event or feeling that causes discomfort—and can be prevented.
Behaviors are a Form of Communication
It’s important to understand that behaviors are a form of communication for someone with dementia. Try not to think of their behavior as positive or negative—or take it personally.
Don’t assume these behaviors must be part of the disease process:
• Agitation
• Hyper-sexuality
• Wandering
• Hallucinations
• Confusion
• Resistance
• Sundowning (late-day confusion)
• Repetition
• Aggression
• Nighttime sleep disturbance
• Delusions
Many types of distressed behavior can be prevented if you know what to look for and can identify triggers and warning signs early on.
💟Distressed behaviors are a form of communication—and some can be preventable.💟
Communication Tips for Supporting People with Dementia
Dementia affects a person’s ability to communicate—both what they’re able to say and what they can understand. So it’s important to learn your loved one’s way of communicating and be able to modify your communication style.
Even for people in the late stages of dementia, communication is vital to their happiness and well-being. If your loved one appears disinterested or unable to communicate with you, it’s still essential to continue using communication as a caregiving tool. You may also need to develop more patience, greater awareness, and some new skills.
Communication Best Practices
🍏Let your loved one know you’re there and remind them who you are, if necessary.
🍏Turn off background noise, like the TV.
🍏Speak directly, smile, and make eye contact.
🍏Be a patient listener and don’t interrupt or finish their sentences.
🍏Speak to and treat your loved one as an adult, don’t talk past them.
🍏Keep instructions simple and clear, break down tasks into steps.
🍏Stay positive and calm, avoid showing frustration.
🍏Be aware of your own body language and tone of voice.
🍏Use statements rather than questions.
🍏When asking a question, offer one or two options and avoid open-ended questions.
🍏Don’t talk about your loved one in front of them, even if you think they can’t hear you or may not understand you.