Ohio State University's Michelle Bourgeois suggests that, in addition to communicating verbally, we try writing down important messages so the confused dementia patient can read them (instead of the caregiver having to repeat things over and over.)
She also suggests making a photo album of important family members ("then and now") and labeling them. This helps the dementia patient understand that the "stranger" they see really is their little baby girl.
I think I'm going to try this with my mom, as she is having a difficult time understanding why she needs to be repeatedly cleaned up by her caregivers.
Alternate ways of communicating with challenging family members, for example, teaching pre-verbal children sign language, can be a breakthrough and a great help to caregivers.
I think this is an excellent idea with lots of possibilities. Let me know if I can help in any way.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteThese are great ideas. Let me add that vitamin B3 in the form of niacinamide 250mg 5x daily has been proven to reverse dementia. I used it to clear my fibromyalgia fog and it helped clear my depression along with vitamin D, going gluten free (another important thing for older people of which I am one), and getting enough iodine daily. The conventional medical community doesn't go for this sort of thing, but it works. I wrote about the niacinamide study at UC Irvine in this blog post: http://www.sufferingwithjoy.com/2010/01/14/another-really-cheap-way-to-feel-better-fibro-fog-niacinimide-and-me/ which you might find interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had a form of dementia and I tried to get her geriatric physician to put her on the niacinamide, which interferes with nothing, but no dice. Because she was in the Baylor Eldercare Program and I was not living near her, I couldn't do anything about it and the nurses caring for her wouldn't do anything outside of what the doctor called for. Mom passed away this March at age 87. I hope to avoid dementia by continuing the niacinamide. I am very much better mentally than I was a year ago when I started it - in fact, I couldn't be blogging without a significant improvement in my mental functioning.
God bless you and your mother.