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Communicating effectively with a person who has Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's gradually strips the meaning from words, causing frustration, anger and frayed nerves. Follow these tips for more successful give and take.
By Mayo Clinic staffWhen you try to communicate with someone who has Alzheimer's, you may feel like you've dropped through the rabbit hole into Alice's wonderland. Because Alzheimer's disease slowly erodes communication skills, an affected person's words and behavior may make little or no sense to you.
Your loved one may have just as much trouble deciphering your words. The resulting misunderstandings can fray the tempers of everyone involved, making communication even more difficult. It's incredibly frustrating — for both of you.
The problem progresses
Alzheimer's damage to pathways in the brain may make it more difficult to recall and to understand words. The frustration of having a precise word "on the tip of your tongue" becomes increasingly common for people with Alzheimer's.
Sometimes, one word is incorrectly substituted for another. Or your loved one may just invent an entirely new word to describe a familiar object. He or she may get stuck in a groove, like a skipping record, and repeat the same word or question over and over.
People with Alzheimer's may also:
- Lose their train of thought
- Struggle to organize words logically
- Need more time to understand what you're saying
- Curse or use offensive language
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