Enhancing Communication Skills Through Alzheimer’s Education

Sep 26, 2024

Reasons to Educate Children about Alzheimer’s Disease           

#1 - So that children will be comfortable around and interacting with a person who has Alzheimer’s (See January’s Blog)
#2 - Teaching children compassion (See February’s Blog)
#3 - Creating a schedule teaches children how to create a safe supportive environment in which they can thrive (See March’s Blog)
#4 - To prepare children to adapt to future changes that occur on life: Mild Alzheimer’s Disease (See April’s Blog)
#5 - Preservation of Memories: Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease  (See May’s Blog)
#6 - Knowledge of Alzheimer's disease promotes inclusivity by teaching children the importance of treating everyone with respect, regardless of their cognitive abilities: Severe Alzheimer’s Disease (See June’s Blog)
#7 Reducing Stigma - When children understand Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia they are more likely to approach someone who has this disease with understanding. (See July's Blog)
#8 Career paths in healthcare- Children are influenced in career choices by the adults in their lives. Exposure to Alzheimer's education may inspire children to pursue careers in healthcare or research, contributing to the ongoing efforts to find a cure or effective treatments. (See August's Blog)

Reason #9 Enhancing Communication Skills: Learning about Alzheimer's disease enhances a child's communication skills because they may need to adapt their communication style when interacting with someone who has the disease.

 

Story: “I feel thonky,” was Gran’s response when her granddaughter asked her how she felt. 

“What’s thonky?” asked her granddaughter. 

“Just not right, I don’t know?” 

Her granddaughter gave her gran a big hug, “I sometimes feel thonky, too. I can’t explain it either.” 

Information: People with Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia lose the ability to find words. Communication is how we get our needs met. Scientists say 80-90 % of communication is non-verbal. Children become masters at getting their needs met before they learn to talk. 

As Alzheimer’s progresses, your loved one reverts to non-verbal communication to express their feelings and get their needs met. Children, closer to the non-verbal world than adults, may be better interpreters. When we understand what the person is trying to communicate, trust is built and helps maintain the relationship with that person. The need for that person to express themselves through anti-social behavior decreases.

Activities: Many activities make learning communication skills fun. These skills can be practiced in everyday life and used with loved ones who have Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia. See our PDF for some great activities to assist with improving verbal & non-verbal communication.

Tips: Sometimes when a person with Alzheimer’s acts out it’s because they’ve lost the ability to effectively express their feelings. This anti-social behavior can trigger the caregiver, as the responsible adult, especially if they’re tired and overwhelmed. The caregiver may react in a way that’s not conducive to open communication. Here are some suggestions for how to maintain effective communication::

  1. Take a deep breath and stay positive in your tone of voice.
  2. Don’t interrupt when your loved one is struggling to get their point across.
  3. Keep things simple. Complex sentences and ideas are frustrating to your loved one.
  4. Avoid baby talk. Your loved one is still an adult and deserves to be treated with respect. 
  5. Use non-verbal communication, such as holding a hand or smiling. 
  6. Present only two choices at a time such as: Would you like eggs or cereal?
  7. Start singing a familiar song to change the mood of your loved one. 

Anxiety deserves its own section in the area of tips. Anxiety is very contagious because it’s a primitive survival mechanism. If someone in a group of people becomes anxious, for example, if they are pacing, grimacing, clenching their fists, or repeating phrases over and over, everyone in the group will start to feel anxious, whether there’s a threat or not. 

People who have Alzheimer’s tend to have more anxiety than the rest of us. This is because they may know they have the disease, they may know their brain isn’t working like it used to, or they don’t have the skills to interpret what’s happening in their environment. Alzheimer’s disease keeps the logical, reasoning part of the brain from functioning well and the person will default to survival mode and anxiety. 

It’s important that we as caregivers keep our anxiety under control when spending time with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia. Caregivers need to control their own grimacing or tense body language and keep their conversation from being verbally short or irritable with the person by projecting a calm, loving, and joyful disposition. In turn, their loved ones will relax and the acting out behaviors will decrease. 

If we do pick up on more anxiety than usual in our loved one, it’s important to explore the reason. This may be caused by other health issues such as urinary tract infection, headache, fever, pain or other illness, and you need to take your loved one to the doctor. Or, they may have a specific need they’re not able to verbalize such as needing the bathroom, being hungry, or being tired. Or, your loved one may be reacting to something in the environment such as a change in weather, other people in the home being upset, or something on television. 

Being able to address the perceived anxiety and come to a positive resolution decreases the amount of acting out and stress in the relationship. We all want to be understood.

Learning how to understand and express effective verbal and non-verbal communication can assist children in all areas of their lives.

Actions: 

  1. Sign up for our newsletter and receive four weekly emails with information, tips and activities on improving communication. 
  2. Download the PDF and use the suggested activities to learn more about non-verbal communication. 
  3. Purchase the MMAAP to get even more information, tips, and activities to incorporate children into the care of your loved one who has Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia. 
  4. Please scroll to the bottom of this blog and give us a thumbs up if you found it helpful. Leave a comment. Feel free to conveniently share it.

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