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 Redirecting the Focus
A person with memory disorders has not only functional problems but also difficulties making sense of various situations. Your task is to help the person notice the important issues and maintain his/her interest in the situation.
Case example: you are organizing an activity, which gets derailed by discussing a topic that is not interesting to the person. The person’s attention then gets easily redirected into something which is of more interest to the person. The discontinuation of an activity could also spark new thoughts in the person (like the need to go pick up children from the school).
To avoid this, you need to continuously explain what the ongoing discussion is about in a situation where the person with memory disorders might have trouble hearing or understanding.
How to Keep Them Following Along
Note that not everyone necessarily needs additional assistance. This applies to those people who have trouble participating in group activities. The question one should ask ourselves is: “Have we done enough so that the person can follow what is going on?”
For example, it might be dining with family. One of the most demanding situations is when the person needs to wait. It might not take long before the person forgets that he/she is waiting for something and starts going somewhere. The caregiver notices it and gets frustrated at the person for not staying in place even despite asking to do so. The person gets upset because the caregiver is angry.
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.
