Dealing With Difficult Situations
Talking About Alzheimer's
Talking to family and friends
Most people with Alzheimer's have more than one person who helps with their care. That means the job may be shared by family or friends. Be sure to recognize the efforts of others:
- Don’t forget that each of you wants what’s best for your loved one.
- Have regular family meetings to keep everyone up to date on your loved one’s health.
- Don’t just share bad news. Try to share good news, too.
- Use e-mail, photos, and phone calls to keep everyone in the loop.
- Include your loved one in health and care choices as much as you can.
Talking with your loved one
Since Alzheimer's is such a serious disease, there will be times when you need to discuss important issues with your loved one. This may be hard, because the disease affects speech and language. It may be hard for your loved one to talk with or listen to you. To avoid arguments when discussing tough subjects, try the following tips:
- If your loved one does not seem to know you, is unkind, or gets angry, try not to be hurt.
- If you need to talk about a big issue, like Alzheimer’s, do it at a time of the day when your loved one is calm.
- When you call your loved one on the phone, be sure to say your name clearly.
- Do not try to have major talks on the phone; it can be hard for your loved one to hear you or focus on what you are saying.
- Don’t argue. Respond to your loved one’s feelings and change to a new topic.
- Use a gentle, calm tone of voice.
- Don’t "baby talk" to your loved one.
- Don’t talk about your loved one to others as if your loved one wasn’t there.
- Reduce noise and other distractions to help your loved one focus.
- Be careful not to interrupt.
- Respect your loved one’s space.