Person-Centered Care Tip

Tip #11:  “Communicate Caring When Words Fail”

Do I communicate what I mean? A person may ignore my words, yet react to how they view my attitude. Communication involves sending and receiving both verbal and non-verbal messages. As memory loss progresses, words may become confusing, and word-finding is often frustrating. A person with memory loss will often mirror the non-verbal messages of the caregiver, and search for prompts to tell them how to respond. With such communication challenges, how can we acknowledge and support the person’s feelings, when words may not make sense?

Please see the attached tip for more information.