The Importance Of Communication Skills In Dealing With Dementia

a) When you communicate with someone who is distressed, the first thing you need to do is to ask them what support they want. Sometimes all people want is to have their hand held and a little bit of comforting and reassurance. It is essential not to provide them unwanted support, because this can be damaging. If they don't want to talk about their problems, you shouldn't pressure them to do so, because this might end up in an unwanted conflict. On the other hand offering little or no help will make them think that nobody cares about them. You always have to ask how much help and support want people from you. The questions you ask should be clear expressed with kindness and compassion, for example: “I can see you're angry. Would you like to talk to me about it? or “Would you like to talk to someone else about it?” There are circumstances when people are very upset , extremely agitated or angry and …show more content…
I used to have a lot of clients with dementia and at the beginning I didn't know how to handle them. Once I had more information of how the disease affects their ability to communicate, and also observing my clients by interacting with them every day has helped me to develop efficient communication skills in dealing with them. When dealing with dementia people you have to be an active listener which means you have to give them you're full attention by stopping what your are doing and let them finish their sentence, even if you know what they are going to say. Otherwise they will get quickly upset and distressed.(NHS,2015) Because my first language is not English for me it was vital to learn more and more words every day so that I can improve the communication between me and my clients. Throughout the years I have learnt more about their customs,culture and religion which has greatly improved the communication between