Communicating with your senior often becomes a lot more difficult as dementia progresses. There are some techniques that you can use that make communicating a lot easier, but they can require practicing a bit.

Reduce Distractions When You Need to Talk to Her

People with dementia can have a much more difficult time filtering out background noise and other distractions. If your senior has hearing loss as well or other issues that make communicating more difficult, that can compound the situation even more. Reducing distractions whenever you can really helps to make the process a lot easier on both you and your senior. It can also make it easier to connect with your elderly family member as you’re talking to her.

Make Eye Contact Before Trying to Talk to Her

When you’re ready to talk to your senior, make sure you have her attention first. This can be as simple as getting on the same level as she is and making eye contact. Sometimes a gentle touch also helps a lot. Wait for your elderly family member to catch up before you dive into whatever you need to talk to her about. This can save you both a lot of frustration.

Be Careful with Tone

Something that is easy to forget is that even if your elderly family member seems to not understand something, your tone of voice can carry a lot of meaning. She may not be able to describe how your tone makes her feel, but she’ll respond to your unspoken cues more quickly than to the words you actually say. The same is true for things like rushing her. If you’re feeling stressed or rushed yourself, take a deep breath, make sure you’re calm and neutral, and then try talking to her.

Learn as Much as You Can

This isn’t a clear-cut process all the time, though. There may be other challenges at times, both external to your senior and internal. So, it helps to have a few experts you can rely on who can help you to develop solutions that work for you and your senior. Elderly care providers have a lot of the experience that you need in order to learn more about how to make this easier for your senior.
This is a learning process and it’s going to take time. Just remember that you’re doing what you can to be there for your senior and that she’s not being difficult deliberately.

The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable Elder Care in Hoschton, GA, and surrounding areas. Call (770) 965.4004 for more information.

We provide home care in Flowery Branch, Braselton, Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Oakwood, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Barrow County, Forsyth County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, Jackson County, North Fulton County.

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Valerie Darling

Founder, Owner at Home Care Matters

Valerie was born in Miami, FL and after a few family moves, grew up locally in the Marietta, GA area.Valerie is the oldest of 4 (3 younger brothers).She is married and has one child.Valerie is the Founder, Owner and CEO of Home Care Matters.Valerie’s mom, Dee, is the inspiration and primary driver as the how and why the business was born.Valerie says, “My mom is never far from our thoughts.Mom was an integral part of developing and starting HCM before she passed away.Our goal is to stay true to her memory and continue to honor her with the love, values, and ethics she taught us.”

Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”

Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”

You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).

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