Losing the ability to communicate can be a frustrating and difficult experience for people with dementia, their families and carers. As the disease progresses, the person with dementia may find it increasingly difficult to express themselves clearly, and to understand what others say. Written with both family and professional carers in mind, this book clearly explains what happens to communication as dementia progresses, how this may affect an individual's memory, language and senses, and how carers might need to adapt their approach as a result. Advocating a person-centred approach to dementia care, the author describes methods of verbal and non-verbal communication, techniques for communicating with people who can not speak or move easily, and strategies for communicating more effectively in specific day-to-day situations, including at mealtimes, whilst helping the person with dementia to bathe or dress, and whilst out and about. Exercises at the end of each chapter encourage the carer to reflect on their learning and apply it to their own circumstances, and guidelines for creating a life story with the person with dementia as a means of promoting good communication are also included. This concise, practical book is essential reading for family caregivers, professional care staff, and all those who work with, or who are training to work with, people with dementia.

Providing people with dementia with opportunities to engage in creative activity can play a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing communication, and in reinforcing personhood and identity. This thoughtful book describes how people with dementia, and the people who work with and care for them, can foster and develop a creative approach, and provides rich and varied ideas for creative activities. The authors explore the concept of creativity - what exactly it is, its particular relevance for people with dementia and how to get into the creative 'flow'. They introduce a range of creative art forms, including poetry and story-telling, collage, drama, music-making, photography, textiles and working with wood and metal, and suggest possibilities for employing them in a range of settings, and with people of all abilities. Consideration is given to the practicalities of facilitating such creative work, including how to organise and run sessions, how to involve people with dementia and their carers, and how to reflect upon the experience. Practice examples are included throughout the book, as well as the comments and observations of people with dementia, and many examples of the artwork and poetry the authors have created with people with dementia over the years. Brimming with ideas, suggestions and helpful guidance, this is an essential resource for all those who work with people with dementia, and an inspiring read for people with dementia and their families.

Preceded by Memory books and other graphic cuing systems / Michelle S. Bourgeois. c2007.

First published: Australia: HarperCollinsReligious, 1998.

Dementia brings many challenges, not least its ability to disrupt effective communication. The quality of communication plays a major role in how well people living with a dementia manage. When communication doesn't work well, the complications of dementia are compounded. Rather than only offering tips on what to say and how to say it, this book explores the underlying motivations of communication, so we can better understand why we say what we do, why we say it the way we do, what can go wrong, and how attempts to fix things can go awry. As well as considering why communication goes wrong in day-to-day conversations, the chapters offer advice on dealing with awkward moments, the question of deception, and the things we can and can't control in dementia. Readers are asked to reflect on their own role, and how they can manage their own behaviours to avoid unintentionally blocking routes to productive communication. Including clear action points for carers, bystanders and people with a dementia diagnosis, this book shows how to approach communication to improve outcomes.

"This book asks why that is. What is it about communication, as a human social and cognitive practice, that makes it so difficult to manage the disruptions caused by dementia? Why is it so common to feel awkward, confused or irritated when talking with a person living with a dementia? Why is the experience of living with a dementia so personally and socially devastating? What approaches to communication would work best, and why?"--

This book argues that communication is at the heart of all approaches to dementia care, and is an in-depth exploration of ways of establishing and developing communication with people with dementia. It examines both the nature of dementia as a condition and the subjective experience of those affected. The authors consider in detail how communication between people with dementia and those who care for them changes, and how it can be maintained and enhanced. They include a significant amount of material quoted from people with dementia, and suggest ways of interpreting their words and actions. We learn about what it might be like to have dementia, and what sort of help is needed by people in this situation. Throughout the book the authors address the ethical issues and the implications for practice. "The combination of creativity and critical analysis which the joint authors as poet and psychologist bring to this book is especially productive...The interweaving of substantial practice examples based on conversations with people with dementia give persuasive authority to the careful exposition and detailed analysis. The book is much more than an exhortation to carers about how they should communicate. It challenges them to understand themselves and shows how they might use themselves to engage with people with dementia." - Faith Gibson, Emeritus Professor of Social Work Communication and the Care of People with Dementia is a key resource for students and professionals in health and social care work, including those in such fields as social work, nursing, occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, clinical psychology, geriatric medicine, and the management of services.