It’s hard not to get frustrated or annoyed when interacting with someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s. To help out with this, we’ve listed a few tips and rules that some of the best aged care homes in Australia use, to help you better communicate with someone suffering from Alzheimer's.  

 

 

You’ll want to begin by getting the person’s attention in a really direct way. That means approaching them front on and saying their name whilst making strong eye contact. This will ensure they focus on you and aren’t going to be caught off guard. 

 

Once you have their attention and you’re ready to start talking, do so in a slow and enunciated way. Your words will need to be very clear and easy to understand. Once you’ve said what you needed to, don’t walk away quickly. Be sure to wait a while for an answer - and certainly don’t speak to fill the silence.

 

If the person didn’t quite understand what you’ve said, then repeat it again in the exact same way and use the same words. If this fails a second or third time, then the question might be too complex, so ask it in another way. 

 

 

Speaking is not the only way humans communicate or show what they are thinking. Utilise as many nonverbal communication methods as you can to assist you in talking to someone with dementia. 

 

It’s important to maintain eye contact and to use your facial expressions, body language like hand gestures, and posture to convey what you’re trying to say. For people with Alzheimer's, exaggerating your facial expressions and body movements can help to emphasise what you are saying so you can give this a go, even though it might feel a little silly at first. 

 

Tip: Keep an eye on your expressions and body language & don’t accidentally send signals that could be interpreted negatively, such as crossing your arms or having your hands on your hips. 

 

 

Sometimes when you’re communicating with someone with Alzheimer’s they won’t know the person or thing you’re referring to, so to combat this confusion you can solve it from the question itself. You can do this by highlighting the relationship between the person with Alzheimer's and the people or things in the room. Cut your use of ‘him’ or ‘her’ and simply say ‘your son, John’ and by doing that you’ll reduce the confusion of the sufferer asking ‘who’s John?’ 

 

On top of restricting the use of pronouns, you should also stick to topics the person with Alzheimer's knows about and is not likely to be confused by. This means talking about their favourite topics like the weather, a sport or even an animal or a TV show. Avoid current events and questions that are complex like politics. 

 

Also, be ready to carry the conversation yourself. You’ll be the person to keep it going and that means you’re also the one who needs to ask the right questions to make the conversation flow. It’s not an Alzheimer's patient being rude, they simply don’t have the same cognitive ability to string countless sentences together about subjects they don't know. 

 

Tip: Don’t ask open-ended questions because these will likely end in the person being angry and thinking you’re trying to test their memory. 

 

 

 

There’s a good chance the person you’re talking to will be having trouble remembering what they’ve said and they’ll repeat things. Don’t point this out, they don’t know they’ve done it and it could make them upset or angry. 

 

If you spot that the person is having issues finding a word, or is really trying to think of a reply, it means the subject is actually important and they want to answer. If this is the case, you can stand in and in a nice way suggest the word if you know it, or just say that you understand. 

 

Tip: If a person’s communication is rather sloppy and you don’t know what they’re trying to convey, then move the blame onto yourself. Let them know that you’re tired today and it’s you that’s having the issues understanding. 

 

 

 

Generally, as people age and their mobility is not as it once was, they become less active and as a result, gain weight. Weight gain can affect our physical and mental health and cause us to stay in a cycle of eating more and exercising less. Though most people believe weight gain as they get older is due to a major slowdown in metabolism, it actually isn’t. Your metabolic rate will only drop a few percentage points. This is good news for everyone though, it means that simply by eating right and getting active you can slash your weight and control your health as you age! 

 

We’ve listed 10 ways that you can eat healthier and improve your health as a senior below. 

 

 

Most people don’t know this but as you get older you begin to lose your sense of thirst. That means you could be dehydrated and not even really notice. Considering that more than 60% of seniors in Australia own a smartphone the best way to combat this issue in the digital age is, of course, with an app. Setting up a reminder app, like Waterlogged or HydroCoach, to encourage you to drink water will prevent you from becoming dehydrated and help you to drink an adequate amount of water. 

 

If you struggle drinking water, diluted vegetable juices, herbal teas and water flavoured with lemon are a good substitute for water. 

 

 

The best way to ensure you get all of your daily nutrients is with a diverse and colourful diet. You’ll want to make sure you’re eating a range of different foods and getting a good balance of protein, carbs, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy products. Remember that if you’re not as active as you used to be, you don’t need to be consuming as much as the days that you were exercising a lot, as you will be using up less energy. If you find yourself still feeling hungry, try to cut back on empty carbs, such as white bread and pasta, and boost your proteins and healthy fats. 

 

You’ll find that in leading aged care homes diversity in diet is at the top of their focus for their residents. 

 

 

If at the end of each week, you plan and cook your meals for the week ahead you’ll be far less likely to binge on snacks and other foods instead since there’s already a healthy meal ready for you. A good place to start is with dinners and then, if you have the time, start making your lunches or even snacks ahead of time. The good thing about this is that you can keep everything frozen and just heat it up when you’re ready to eat. 

 

 

A common issue for older people is the decline in taste when they eat. That has meant that seniors are likely to season their dishes a lot more than younger people, and that can lead to an excessive intake of salt. Unfortunately, a high intake of sodium is directly correlated with high blood pressure, which results in heart disease, strokes and even kidney diseases. Be sure to cut back to below 2,300 milligrams of salt each day. 

 

 

 

The easiest way to cut back on the salt is to switch it out with herbs and spices. This way you’ll still be getting an exotic taste added to your foods, but with no extra sodium. It’s a win-win considering most herbs and spices have no sodium at all, but help to create a strong flavour. 

 

 

The law says that food companies have to list all their ingredients and nutritional info on the back of all packaged food, so use this to your advantage. Whenever you go shopping make sure to check this information and see if the product you’re buying is as healthy as it claims to be. 

 

Be on the lookout for high fat, sodium and sugar levels and put these foods back. 

 

 

Maintaining a healthy weight is all about serving sizes. Overeating causes weight gain and you might be doing it without even realising. Look on the packaging of food products and check how large a serving size is, and don’t eat more than that. Simply because something is small, like a muesli bar, doesn’t mean it isn’t calorie dense. You could be eating a lot of calories, and not many nutrients, by accident. 

 

 Cut out Refined Sugar 

 

Refined sugar is one of the worst foods for the body. It has no nutritional value whatsoever, it causes insulin resistance if eaten on a regular basis and can actually be the cause of heart disease and, of course, diabetes. 

 

It’s a good idea to give up the sugar bowl you love because it really doesn’t love you back and instead swap out sugar for sweeteners like Stevia that are natural. Switch out your love of sweets and move to fruits and other healthy options to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

 

 Focus on Healthy Fats 

 

You won’t need to cut all fat out of your diet if you focus on eating healthier fats. The worst kinds of fat for your body at any age are saturated and trans fats. These clog arteries and cause heart disease and degenerate health in the long term. Move to healthier monounsaturated fats as well as polyunsaturated fats in your diet and you’ll see a boost in mood and activity in just a few days. Your best friends here will be olive oil, omega-3-packed fish and nuts. 

 

 

Sometimes a healthy diet might not be enough, so you should speak to your doctor about some supplemental vitamins that will work best for you.