People with dementia value relationships with people who are supporting them. I would feel good if people are like me – open. It takes time you know – to build a relationship – and you need to give us time to talk and time to get to know you too. Building trust and mutual respect is important.
A dementia-friendly community focuses on stigma reduction and the inclusion of people with dementia. People are educated about the disease and know that a person with dementia may sometimes experience the world differently.
Helping a person with dementia have a social life
People with a dementia should continue to enjoy their hobbies and interests as much as possible. You can offer support by: including them in social activities and events. encouraging them to join a conversation.
The key to positive conversations with people living with dementia is respectful, sensitive and consistent communication.
Allow the person to keep as much control in his or her life as possible. Respect the person's personal space. Build quiet times into the day, along with activities. Keep well-loved objects and photographs around the house to help the person feel more secure.
Playing music, having objects to touch and interact with, and hand massage can all help people with dementia in the later stages. Playlist for Life is a music and dementia charity. It promotes how music with personal meaning can help people with dementia.
In his theorising about personhood in people living with dementia, Kitwood (1997) identified five psychological needs experienced by people living with dementia, namely the need for comfort, attachment, identity, occupation and inclusion.
Some of the greatest challenges of caring for a loved one with dementia are the personality and behavior changes that often occur. You can best meet these challenges by using creativity, flexibility, patience, and compassion. It also helps to not take things personally and maintain your sense of humor.
increased agitation. aggression (shouting or screaming, verbal abuse, and sometimes physical abuse) delusions (unusual beliefs not based on reality) hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that do not exist)
Encouraging someone with dementia to communicate
make eye contact with the person when they're talking or asking questions. give them time to respond, because they may feel pressured if you try to speed up their answers. encourage them to join in conversations with others, where possible.
Avoid asking too many open-ended questions about the past, as it could be stressful for a person with dementia if they can't remember the answer. While it might seem polite to ask somebody about their day, it's better to focus on what's happening in the present.
These qualities are empathy with the person, person-centred attitudes and a compassionate approach. The intention is that these will induce a state of cognitive security in people with dementia and enhance their sense of wellbeing.
A garden offers fresh air, exercise and exposure to sunlight which is vital for wellbeing. People with dementia generally will be less likely to become agitated and distressed if they can have regular access to fresh air and exercise and a quiet space away from others as needed.
They can feel happy, safe and calm. Some people with dementia may seem like their usual self a lot of the time and you may only notice small changes every now and then. Some people with dementia may not have as many good days. Those days when they do feel more like their old self can be very special.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
Your dementia symptoms can affect your relationships in different ways including communication, feelings and behaviour, and sex and intimacy. Your relationships may also change when someone takes on a caring role. However, with the right support, it is possible to adjust to these changes.
When communicating with an individual experiencing memory loss, remember the 3 Rs — RIGHT, REASSURE, REDIRECT.
In dementia screening, clinicians often refer to a list of symptoms commonly known as the 7 A's — anosognosia, agnosia, aphasia, apraxia, altered perception, amnesia, and apathy.
Being active, eating a better diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, keeping normal blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and having low blood sugar in middle age may all lower the chances of developing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease later in life, research suggests.
Loneliness and isolation is a problem for lots of older people, but it's particularly difficult if they are also struggling with dementia. In fact, more than a third of people with dementia say they feel lonely and have lost friends, according to research by the Alzheimer's Society.