Conversing with Dementia Patients

ayla2004, ASN, RN · May 7, 2014

Hey try dementia and non english speaking with a head injury not fun. Me talk about their

familly if they have visted or rung. Admire any photo displayed. Explain wht im doing. Talk about the local area etc I get by. Dementia poses challenges but I like my demtia patients

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 7, 2014

Ask them about the past. Where were they born? Do they have children? What jobs have they had? What is the favorite food, color, season---- They live in the present and distant past.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 7, 2014

Ask them about the past. Where were they born? Do they have children? What jobs have they had? What is the favorite food, color, season---- They live in the present and distant past.

Had a advanced dementia pt last week who had no idea where he was, the year or my name regardless of how many times I told him. And then I asked him if he wanted to watch playoff hockey, he says yes and I put the game on. I was in the room a lot to check him because he was a wander/fall risk and while he never did remember my name or where he was, we had some very detailed discussions about hockey strategy. Common ground and far back into the past seems to work well.

_Skittles_ · May 7, 2014

So this is kinda my specialty since I had a parent with dementia and worked on a dementia ward for years and spoke at a conference about it, but talking about their past is good,for some reason the men always go back to focusing on when they worked (hence why they are typically happy to be your "helper" or are happy to tinker with things and the women always focus on when they were raising their kids (hence why if you give them A baby doll they get real excited about taking care of it). It's totally okay to talk about your life! Actually i recommend it, especially since half the time you're having parallel conversations (where you're talking about one thing and they don't understand so they are talking about something completely different). Usually they are just happy to have someone to gab with since sadly in nursing homes they don't seem together attention they need.

GundeRN · May 8, 2014

I am talking about people who are incapable of talking about their past. I am in hospice and work with end stage dementia patients.

_Skittles_ · May 8, 2014

See here's the thing you can pick up on little things like how their room is decorated by the family or what lights them up and go from there, you may think they were incapable of talking about their past but if you get the right song or right word they light up and babble like the happiest little kid alive. May not be coherent but you'll know they are happy. For instance, end stage dementia pt I worked with used to repeat the same phrase over and over, turns out it was a polka. So when she was on her deathbed I would play that song and other polka music and talk to her even if she couldn't respond she would stop screaming and just look...happy. Another patient I noticed a horse magazine, a person that typically had no words he babbled like crazy when I showed him the picture and although I didn't understand him occasionally he would pick up on key words I said, ex. Thoroughbred, 16 hands, etc. you just have to use your environment to find a key to their past and get used to parallel conversations with a side of creativity :) or you know make up stuff. Like a patient I had only had a few weeks left and was very focused on me getting married? Idk why? I never mentioned a special person or anything...anywho let her "plan" my wedding. She was so happy and it made anything I had to do by her bedside more enjoyable when talking baby names and wedding dresses. People may frown upon it but hey when you have a parent that far gone most people settle for letting them be happy whether it's rotting their teeth out with sweets or pretending. *shrugs*