Supporting the person with dementia
Where possible try to
- involve the person with dementia in making decisions about everyday matters
- make time to listen to the person
- show kindness and be reassuring, and
- respect the person at all times.
Try not to
- appear cross with the person
- argue with the person, and
- ignore the person
Verbal communication
- speak in a calm way; notice the tone of your voice
- use short sentences giving a small amount of information
- give time for the person to respond or answer, and
- don’t argue about facts or try to ‘correct’ the person.
Non-verbal communication
- move to the person’s level
- maintain eye contact where possible, and
- use gestures, objects or signals as well as words; for example show the person an object that relates to what you are saying.
Remember
- you are very important to the person with dementia
- you make a big difference to how the person copes with the difficulties of having dementia, and
- people who struggle to communicate verbally may be more sensitive to body language and may respond differently.