Beyond Know How

Coping with a person with dementia is very stressful for primary caregivers. Here are 5 tips to cope with dementia.

1) Try to place yourself in to his mind and think how he react’s whith the impaiments he has.

2) Don’t speak to fast when talking to someone with dementia, they could have troubles following what you are saying.

3) When a person with dementia is saying something wrong, or is talking about the past as it is happening now, don’t confront him with his erros. Instead, help him with what he is trying to say even if there is nothing true what he says.

4) In the end of the disease, most people can not talk anymore and they have troubles understanding you. However, they notice they way you speal to them and they like being touched by loved ones.

5) Someone with dementia is very good in convincing others that nothing is wrong. Do not always believe what they say if it concerns eating or cleaning.

Many caregivers of person’s with dementia have a hard time coping with the behaviour the person is expressing. People with Dementia have difficulties understanding language or expressing language. They have difficulties in orientating themselves where they are, how they should go from place a to b. They don’t know what day it is or when they finally get something to eat. They also have primary difficulties with their memory, especially their short term memory. ou tell them something 5 or 6 times and still they are asking you the same question. The main problem for caregivers is that they know the person is sick but just can not relate the behaviour to the sickness. This leads to misunderstanding and stress which could lead to burn out syndrom. Coping with Dementia is a first step in giving better care for your loved one, but also for your self.