Dementia And Communication Research Paper

non-verbal communication suited to the needs and abilities of the individual with dementia. The third component of validation is the focus on individuals with late-onset disorientation, thus ac- knowledging that individuals have had a relatively normal life prior to being diagnosed with de- mentia (Jones & Miesen, 2008).

A person with dementia has very poor or no short term memory at all, so when it comes to making descisions the answer may change quite alot because they have poor memory recall they may say yes one minute then say no to the exact same question because they cant remember what was asked before hand.

Dementia sufferers communicate in many different ways. They may not be able to speak but they can communicate non-verbally with positive or negative behaviour. They can also communicate using body language and through posture.

All forms of dementia can affect the way a person communicates, so in time they may have to find different ways of expressing themselves and their feelings. As a carer your non-verbal communication will become important, your body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and tone of voice will have to be taken into account when you are communicating with a sufferer. In the early stages of some forms of dementia people may have difficulty finding the right word they are looking for, and in the later stages of some forms of dementia the words could be lost completely. As the dementia progresses, it gets a lot

Individuals with dementia have loss of communication or memory so they can be treated unfairly by carers or relatives because they may not have the capacity to challenge abuses or to report what has occurred. For example they can use offensive or insulting language.

Also a person with dementia has very poor or no short term memory at all, so when it comes to making descisions the answer may change quite alot because they have poor memory recall they may say yes one minute then say no to the exact same question because they cant remember what was asked before hand.

People who have dementia are not aware of requirements for living. They can forget to do the essential things that are vital. Taking medicines, hygiene and even eating are often forgotten. They can get lost or hurt and not understand what is necessary to correct a situation. Turning on the cooker or water and forgetting to turn it off again, locking doors, crossing streets etc can all be dangerous even deadly. In the same way as you would not think an infant capable of self care, a person with dementia cannot be either. Considering the facts that they cannot act in the manner of a

Dementia sufferers communicate in many different ways. They may not be able to speak but they can communicate non-verbally with positive or negative behaviour. They can also communicate using body language and through posture.

Even diet or illness can affect their abilities or needs. One day a person with dementia will remember, and be quite able, to complete certain tasks but then may be incapable another. This is not their choice it is because the brain is a very complex organ and the chemical changes vary from person to person. The information is still in the memory but the neurotransmitters are able to send messages one day but maybe not the next. If an individual has a water infection they may be more confused and their needs go up whilst their abilities go down. Medication may produce more hallucinations or tremors therefore once again their needs are increased.

Communication - The person with dementia may have problems communicating that they are hungry or that they don't like the food they have been given. They may communicate their needs through their behaviour. For example, they may refuse to eat or hold food in their mouth. Giving them a choice of food, or using prompts and pictures, may help.

If an individual that has dementia and also has a sensory impairment it is important for care providers to assess the communication abilities of that person and to support different methods that the person may have when they are trying to communicate with you for instance a person that wears a hearing aid may have forgotten or have been unable to turn it on because of there dementia by simply having a quick check hat it is fitted correctly and is turned on you have aided the person in being able to communicate better there are many other items that may also be beneficial to an individual with sensory loss, flash cards with simple instructions words and picture on may be good if a person is having difficulty expressing what they need, sign language may also be good for those with hearing impairments.

1.1 Losing the ability to communicate can be one of the most frustrating and difficult problems for people with dementia, their families and carers. As the illness progresses, a person with dementia experiences a gradual lessening of their ability to communicate. They find it more and more difficult to express themselves clearly and to understand what others say.

An individual’s background can influence their communication methods in many ways. Such as the way someone has been brought up, their different values in life, their relationships with family members. These can all be a factor to how they communicate with others. These factors can effect communication because if their relationships have been quite hard and they do not see their own families much, the individual will find it difficult to trust and open up to the care managers at the nursing home. This will make it hard for the care managers to get to know the real them and it will be difficult to recognize any problems that appear. Also it depends what the individual’s medical history is. They could be on a type of medication which effects there communication. They could suffer from having dementia or a stroke, there for this can effort your communication massively. With all three factors you might have to use simple sentences or even using picture cards as the individual might find it easier to understand what you’re

The term 'dementia ' describes a set of symptoms which include loss of memory, mood changes, processing information and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain diseases, including Alzheimer 's disease and damage caused by a series of small strokes. Dementia affects older and younger people and the decline in the person will get worse as more brain cells are damaged or die.

When having a communication with a patient who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, this is where therapeutic communication techniques come into play. These techniques are vital I used them as in an effective way. Using silence and being active listener are the techniques that really helped me get all the important information that I need from the patient. If I didn't give the pt. enough time to think, the pt. would have been confused and stressed. Sharing empathy, hope, and humor are the techniques that I tend to use all the time in the beginning, and it seems to work effectively, especially to patients with Alzheimer's disease. It helped me build a good relationship with the patient, and that is what really helped to continue communicating