Joseph A Girouard Discusses The Best Ways To Communicate With Seniors With Alzheimer’s

1. Joseph A Girouard Discusses The Best Ways To Communicate With Seniors With Alzheimer’s Joseph A Girouard who has been working in the field of senior health care from the past twenty-five years recently hold an online session where he spoke about caring for seniors with Alzheimer’s. He started the session by discussing how changes in the ability to communicate are unique to each person suffering from Alzheimer’s. Those who have a loved one suffering from this debilitating condition may recognize many changes in them, such as – Speaking less often Struggling to organize words in a logical way Using familiar words repeatedly Inventing new words for describing familiar objects Easily losing their train of thought Joseph A Girouard said that as seniors with Alzheimer’s have difficulty expressing their emotions and thoughts, as well as in understanding others’, it is important to communicate with them in such a way that they are able to easily understand you. Speaking in a low tone, using gestures, and avoiding overwhelming questions are some of the things that one must keep in mind when talking to them. Apart from that, using non-verbal cues, such as maintaining eye contact, smiling, holding their hand, sitting quietly and being “in the moment” also helps keep the seniors at ease and makes them comfortable to speak whatever they want.

2. During the session, Joseph Girouard also advised anyone caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s to talk about one thing at a time. He said that it is important to understand that anyone suffering from this condition cannot engage in the mental juggling that is needed for maintaining a conversation with multiple threads. Therefore, it is best that you try keeping it as simple and concise as possible. For instance, it is always better to ask them open-ended questions instead of quizzing them or asking too much information all at once.