Attendees: Maria Geizer (Home Instead Senior Care), Lori Pitcheralle (Saratoga County Public Health), Mary Rickard (Saratoga County Office for the Aging), Jane Kerr Sussman (Saratoga Senior Center), Carolyn Crawmer (NY Statewide Senior Action Council), JoAnn Zales (National Grid), Barb Walton (Saratoga County Office for the Aging), James Swanson (SAIL), Susanne B. (FSS/Section 8- JEM, Inc), Chris Camburn (FSS/Section 8-JEM, Inc), Keith Kerchoff (Saratoga County DSS), Karin Drozdick (Mechanicville Senior Center), Denise Y. (Saratoga County OFA), Richelle Mahar (Community member), Donna Rudzinski (Shen Village), Mary Moller (Albany Med Center of Excellence for Alzhiemer's Disease), Shelli Crogan (Interim Healthcare), Emma Schmitt (Saratoga County OFA).
Introductions and Announcements- It should be noted that Shelli Crogan announced the passing of Lisa Evans, co-owner of Interim Healthcare, from an illness. Our thoughts are with Lisa's family, friends and co-workers at this time.
We will not be having a meeting next month, August 2017. Future meetings (September-December) will be announced via email reminders.
Today's presenter and topic: Kym Hance, Program Manager of Saratoga and Warren Counties for the Alzheimer's Association of Northeastern New York, presenting Effective Communication Strategies.
What is Communication? Believe it or not, it is only 7% verbal. Much of it has to do with body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and ability to listen.
Communication changes throughout the progression and stages of Alzheimer's.
Communication changes in the Early Stage -
-difficulty finding the right words
-taking longer to speak or respond
-withdrawing from conversations
struggling with decisions or problem solving.
To Connect with someone in this stage:
-ask directly how to help
-keep sentences clear and straightforward
-leave plenty of time to converse
include the person in conversations that affect him or her.
Communication in the Middle Stage-
-increased difficulty finding the right words
-using familiar words repeatedly
-inventing new words to describe familiar things
-easily losing train of thought
-speaking less frequently
-communicating through behavior rather than words
To Connect-
-Approach from the front, say who you are and call the person by name
-Maintain eye contact, and get eye level
-Avoid arguing or correcting
-Pay attention to your tone
-Take your time
-Join the person's reality - assess their needs and let them know that their feelings are valid
- Keep it slow, basic and remove distractions.
-Avoid quizzing, write things down if that helps, avoid sudden movement.
-Reassure and validate the person.
Communication in the Late Stage-
-Communication is reduced to a few words or sounds.
-Possible responses to familiar words or phrases
To Connect -
-Help the person feel safe and happy.
-Listen to expressions of pain and respond quickly.
-Use all 5 senses to communicate- sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
For more information on this or other topics related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, please call the Alzheimer's Association of Northeastern New York at 867-4999, or email at infony@alz.org. The national website is www.alz.org.
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