How can I continue to relate with my loved one who has Alzheimer鈥檚 disease?
As Alzheimer鈥檚 disease progresses, you will find ways of communicating with your loved one more challenging. Your loved one will experience difficulties with how they use words and language, and sight and/or hearing impairments may also make it harder to communicate.
It鈥檚 important to first become educated about the disease. The more familiar you are about the disease, the better it will be for you in managing it with your loved one. Gaining more knowledge will also enable you to shift your expectations and to adapt new ways of relating to them. Plus, it also helps you provide empathy and support.
In a recent online post provided by WebMD, Virginia Wadley Bradley, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of medicine, gerontology, geriatrics and palliative care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, explains that coming to peace and acceptance with your loved one鈥檚 diagnosis is the first step in allowing a new relationship to form. As their personality begins to change accepting that your relationship with your loved one has and will continue to change is key. This involves an approach to caring for your loved one called relationship-centered care that embraces who they were and meets them where they are.
Dr. Bradley calls this a relationship-centered approach and says that some doctors use this method to tailor care to a person鈥檚 unique abilities and preferences, as well as those of the family.
鈥淭he doctor involves the family early on in all decisions and focuses on ways to preserve dignity and compassion for the person with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease while capitalizing on observations of the relationship between the patient and his or her family caregiver(s),鈥 she says.
Dr. Bradley offers the following five ideas for relationship-centered care to keep relationships strong when your loved one has Alzheimer鈥檚:
- Recognize the familiar sparks. Recognize the sparks of the person you knew are there rather than focus on the aspects of their personality that are not there.
- Roll with it. Alzheimer鈥檚 symptoms can be a moving target. What helps your loved one today may not work tomorrow. Keeping a familiar daily routine is recommended for people with Alzheimer鈥檚. Adapting to your loved one鈥檚 responses and moods can help you both maintain your emotional well-being.
- Redefine expectations. Set aside those high expectations and try to keep a positive attitude. Don鈥檛 correct or say, 鈥淒on鈥檛 you remember?鈥 Instead of emphasizing the error, redirect, distract or change the subject.
- Stay social. It鈥檚 easy to feel isolated when you have Alzheimer鈥檚 or are caring for a loved one with it. Encourage family members and friends to stay connected to your loved one in ways that are comfortable for them.
- Take care of yourself. As a caregiver, you need to make time to take care of yourself to keep up your own mental and physical wellness.
By understanding how Alzheimer鈥檚 symptoms affect behavior and using a relationship-centered approach, you may discover new and creative ways to stay close to your loved one and cherish every interaction.