This is an article in Hovi Care’s series of 10 articles with the topic: 10 Wishes for Caregiver.
The keys to success when working with a person with memory disorders are both very easy but challenging. Everything starts with the person’s situation and his/her abilities.
In this series of articles, we’ll help you make the day successful with the person with dementia. (PwD) You will need a bag of tips and tricks to tackle multitude of situations. The tools and methods include:
- standing side-by-side
- reminiscing together
- continually searching for ways to enhance a person’s feeling of safety
- supporting a person’s self-image
- creating moments that enforce feelings of participation and a person’s sense of accomplishment
Let’s get Started with Making Them Feel Capable
The caregiver needs to create and enforce a feeling that the person with memory disorders is capable of doing things to help the caregiver learn something, even though the caregiver already knows it. The caregiver can ask him/her to show once more how the thing (for example, making knitting loops) is done. This might get the person interested in knitting. Instead, if you just show them to a person and ask them to start knitting, it might not excite the person.
Working Within Their Capabilities
The same principle applies to memories as well. You can tell the person: “I cannot remember what the colour of your home was? Here’s a picture of it. Was it green or red?” Provide options to choose from. As an option, you could have the two colours on paper, which helps reminiscence. The person will be happy to help you with your question and, in turn, will feel useful.
Case example: the person with memory disorders used to be an electrician. The caregiver purchased several electricity outlet safety plugs and asked which of these would work best. This question often led to long discussions of electricity and different appliances. The person was happy to help, making him proud to share his knowledge with the caregiver.
You need to know the person to find out what might create that sense of pride.
Also, have a look at Hovi Care’s other articles on the series: 10 Wishes for Caregiver
Have a look at our other articles on how to take care of a person with dementia here.
If you need support services for your loved one, please contact us to hear more. We operate in Bali and Singapore. Read more about Hovi Care here.
