{"id":884,"date":"2016-02-01T04:25:02","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T04:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/?p=884"},"modified":"2016-02-01T04:25:02","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T04:25:02","slug":"understanding-and-communicating-through-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/2016\/02\/01\/understanding-and-communicating-through-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding and Communicating Through Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FL129\"<\/a>Communication is a vital tool that we use every day in our work and personal lives. Whether we realize it or\u00a0not, every word, action, and body posture communicates something to others. Understanding more clearly\u00a0how we communicate can make you much better able to understand others, and to make yourself\u00a0understood.<\/p>\n

Working with someone with dementia or memory loss can make clear communication even\u00a0harder. Here\u00a0are a dozen\u00a0tips for you to use to enhance your everyday communication with a friend or loved one suffering from dementia:<\/p>\n

Be aware of your Body Language.<\/strong> When we lose verbal communication, often our awareness of nonverbal cues is even greater. People with dementia can sense how you are feeling through your posture, facial\u00a0expressions, and other body language, maybe even better than through your words. Relax, smile, and shake\u00a0out your own tensions.<\/p>\n

Create a mood.<\/strong> Chat about pleasant things before you ask the person you\u2019re caring for to do something\u00a0difficult. Laugh, joke, tell a funny story, or simply share something you saw that made you smile. You\u2019ll create\u00a0a mood that will make your job much easier.<\/p>\n

Use touch.<\/strong> Touch the shoulder, arm or hand lightly and casually while you\u2019re talking. This sets a tone of\u00a0reassuring, non-threatening communication.<\/p>\n

Remove distractions.<\/strong> Turn off the TV, radio or move to a quiet location. This will help the person you\u2019re caring\u00a0for focus on you, and give you a much better chance of communicating clearly.<\/p>\n

Make eye contact.<\/strong> Look the person you\u2019re caring for directly in the eye. Remember to smile so the eye contact\u00a0is pleasant, not threatening. Never approach from behind and startle or frighten someone. Eye contact should\u00a0be on the same level \u2013 sit or squat down if you need to be eye-to-eye.<\/p>\n

Speak slowly and clearly.<\/strong> Use short sentences, and clear, one-step directions. Talk slowly, but don\u2019t yell.<\/p>\n

To read about the six other tips, visit the FirstLight\u00a0Family Learning Center<\/a>, a new free resource for family caregivers. \u00a0Just click on “Communication” in the “Caregiver Basics” section.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Communication is a vital tool that we use every day in our work and personal lives. Whether we realize it or\u00a0not, every word, action, and body posture communicates something to others. Understanding more clearly\u00a0how we communicate can make you much better able to understand others, and to make yourself\u00a0understood. Working…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-care"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-olympia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}