Do you have a parent or family member suffering from dementia? If so, it can be very difficult at times to clearly communicate with them and get your message across in a way they can process. We have put together a few tips to help you communicate more effectively and hopefully, relieve some of the daily stress. Providing dementia care in Hawaii can be a frustrating task if you do not have a strategy for success.

Top Tips

• If you are annoyed or angry because the person you are caring for does not seem to understand you, this can make things worse. It is important to give positive and soothing signals to help them feel at ease. Be aware of your tone of voice, body language and the facial expressions you use. These can make a big difference. Try to keep the tone upbeat and pleasant, but still speaking slowly in plain language.

• Asking questions to get the person interested is a great way to stimulate better communication. Ask them simple and pointed questions to help them focus on you and the task at hand. Such as, “do you want a red plate or a blue plate?” or “do you want blue socks or black socks?” Keep thing simple and direct only giving two choices and not an open-ended question where they need to find an answer from too many options.

• Use steps even for simple tasks. If you are preparing for dinner, then have them help by doing one thing at a time. Instead of telling them to set the table, break things down to the items that go on the table first, second, third and fourth. This will help them to track progress and stay on task.

• Do your best to keep things light, fun and humorous. While dealing with dementia can be frustrating sometimes, laughter is the best cure and it will help keep the quality of life factor higher. Creating a positive and enjoyable environment is just as much part of the job as anything else.

• Help them focus on you by removing distractions. Turn off the TV, radio or other devices that are making sounds or interjecting into the immediate environment. Sit directly in front of the person so they can look directly at you and are not distracted by other things that grab their attention.

Having patience and keeping a good attitude while providing dementia care in Hawaii will help things tremendously, and if you use the tips above then it should assist you in communicating more effectively. This should result in getting through the day and accomplishing activities a little easier, while also keeping things more enjoyable.