If your elderly loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Alzheimer’s care services can provide essential support as this progressive condition gradually affects their ability to communicate their needs, desires, and wants.

Communication is a key part of any relationship, and as your loved one loses this ability, it can become challenging to understand how to comfort or care for them.

 

Three Stages of Communication Changes

 

Early Stage

In the early stages of the disease, Alzheimer’s care services can play a crucial role in supporting your loved one as they navigate changes in communication. The symptoms are mild at this stage, and your loved one can still express most of their needs with patience and prompting. You may notice differences in how they communicate, but with understanding and guidance, they can often convey their desires effectively.

During this stage, they can still comprehend much of what you say. While their responses may sometimes be slow or inappropriate, patience and clear direction can help them better understand and respond to your requests.

In this stage, some of the key changes you may notice as a caregiver can include:

• Your loved one might repeat the same question multiple times as he tries to remember the earlier answer to his question.
• He might speak more slowly and seem to struggle to put sentences together. You might notice a lot more filler words like “um” between each word.
• He might struggle to find the correct word for what he’s trying to explain. This can result in frustration on his part.

 

Moderate Stage

During this stage of the disease, communication becomes much more challenging for your loved one. He may struggle to understand long sentences or complex statements, and his speech might be slurred or difficult to follow.

Adjusting how you communicate is crucial at this point. Using short, simple sentences and combining gestures with spoken words (such as acting out actions while speaking) can make it easier for your loved one to understand. If you need additional support, Alzheimer’s care services can provide guidance and strategies to help improve communication and enhance daily interactions.

 

Severe Stage

At this stage, many individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease may stop speaking entirely or only communicate incoherently, often unrelated to the current situation. Providing effective Alzheimer’s care services involves closely observing for clues about how they are feeling to better understand their needs.

It’s also important to accept that they may require physical guidance to complete most daily activities.

 

Alzheimer’s Care Providers Can Help Through All Stages of Communication

Each stage will present its own challenges for caregivers striving to give the best care possible to their loved ones. An Alzheimer’s care provider can be a great resource at this time, and they can assist you in caring for your aging loved one.

Alzheimer’s care providers have been trained on how to communicate and support Alzheimer’s patients during each stage of the disease. This training gives them some intuitive insight on how to effectively communicate with their loved one and help them during their daily routines.

Caring for your loved one with Alzheimer’s disease will be overwhelming at times, but having some Alzheimer’s care support can lighten the load.

 

 

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering Alzheimer’s Care in Burbank, CA, please contact the caring staff at Nu Care Inc. today. 800-505-6890