March Caregivers Meeting



Date: 21-03-09

Time: 1400 hrs

Topic: Communication and persons with Dementia

The talk started with introduction to the audience regarding what is communication, the means of communication, and the importance of non-verbal communication. The participants were encouraged to give their views regarding these topics and they enthusiastically participated.  

This was followed by how communication is affected in persons with dementia and how family members can play an important role in alleviating these concerns. Some useful tips were given to the family members to encourage their loved ones to talk, accept all kinds of communication and to remember that even certain behaviours such as mood swings exhibited by persons with dementia occur for a reason and caregivers need to be tuned to such changes in behaviour. 

Caregivers were also advised not to contradict persons with dementia and to avoid arguments as far as possible. This was explained by real-life examples depicting that the reality of persons with dementia is different from that of ours and we have to respect that. Caregivers were cautioned against talking about their loved ones in their presence at all times. They were asked to understand what persons with dementia sometimes try to communicate by their actions using examples. This was carried out as an exercise where caregivers were asked to react to certain real-life situations.

All caregivers and volunteers from ARDSI participated enthusiastically and benefitted from the discussion regarding communication in persons with dementia.

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