Nov 21, 2010

Communication tip

"Spoken words literally go through one ear and out the other. Patients understand, but they can't store the memory. That is why they ask the same question over and over." Michelle S. Bourgeois, speech-pathology professor at Ohio State University.

Bourgeois has an excellent suggestion for the extreme difficulty in communicating with someone with dementia. She suggests that we write down the information. She suggests that people with dementia retain reading skills, and that they will be comforted by having information written rather than told -- or in addition to being told. I have done that with directions and lists of information, but it did not occur to me to do it with everyday communication. She gives an example of a person with dementia asking over and over where they are going. She suggests that we write on a piece of paper the information for the person, and they may very well ask less often. Great ideas in her article in the November 21, 2010, Parade Magazine.

No comments:

Post a Comment