When you notice a loved one’s dementia symptoms progressing, you may wonder about their mental capacity. Mid- and advanced-stage dementia can make it more difficult for individuals to communicate with their family members, making it difficult for you to understand what they’re thinking and feeling.
Understanding what dementia patients think about can help you better care for your loved one. Today, we’ll explore this and how you can communicate effectively to offer the best possible standard of care.
Does Dementia Affect a Person’s Thought Process?
Yes, dementia affects every aspect of thought. By design, the condition causes damage to the brain, including the parts that control thoughts, reasoning and consciousness.
It’s easy for people to take the thinking process for granted, but our streams of consciousness are often more complicated than they seem.
For example, needing to pay a bill online takes several steps:
- We must remember that we have to pay for the relevant service
- We need to feel obligated or motivated to pay the bill
- We should remember the steps of paying the bill online and complete them
Dementia makes it difficult to remember things, including the sequences of events required to complete everyday tasks. It can also affect motivation, especially in the later stages of the condition.
This means that, while a person with dementia might still think about bills and everyday chores, they may not have the capacity to recall the steps needed to complete them. The progression of symptoms may make it difficult for your loved one to complete basic activities of daily living.
Are Dementia Patients Aware of Their Condition?
In the early stages of dementia, an individual is likely to be aware that they’re beginning to experience symptoms of the condition. However, they might not notice that symptoms are progressing.
For example, they may not realise that they’re forgetting more and more recent events or important dates. Muscle memory tends to help them continue living independently, without realising that their thought processes are becoming interrupted.
As dementia progresses into advanced stages, individuals often forget about their diagnosis. While they may notice things being more difficult than they once were, they might not understand why.
Certain symptoms, such as time-shifting and confabulation, might allow them to live in a different time period or in their own world where their symptoms aren’t an issue. They may think everything is normal, but people acting strangely around them can cause frustration and distress.
What Do People With Dementia Think About?
It can be difficult to determine what people with dementia think about, especially if they struggle to communicate with you. However, it’s widely believed that dementia patients still think about things as they did before their diagnosis.
Most individuals continue to be interested in the same things they were before their diagnosis. If your loved one used to watch a TV show every night, putting it on can evoke feelings of familiarity and ease. Mentioning a hobby they used to enjoy may be an effective way to bond with them.
They may not be able to remember as much, but they’ll likely think about the same things as they did before. Their loved ones, what they’re going to eat for dinner, their next outing. Knowing how to notice the signs of non-verbal communication in dementia can help you connect.
How to Communicate with a Dementia Patient Effectively
It can be difficult to communicate with your loved one, especially if their dementia symptoms have progressed enough that it’s impacting their senses. However, it’s essential that you continue trying to start conversations with them to improve their quality of life and better understand their needs.
Here are some tips on communicating with dementia patients effectively:
- Speak clearly, slowly and use short sentences
- Make eye contact with them when they’re talking or asking questions
- Offer plenty of time to respond to avoid pressuring them into rushing their answers
- Encourage them to join in conversations with others
- Let them speak for themselves when assessing and planning care needs
- Try not to patronise or ridicule them
- Acknowledge what they’ve said, even if they’re repeating themselves or answer something completely irrelevant to your question; don’t ignore them
- Offer them simple choices after each question to make finding an answer easier
- Use other ways to communicate, such as rephrasing questions or looking for non-verbal cues
What If They Struggle to Talk?
Body movements and facial expressions can also be used to communicate needs and wants. It’s important to know what your loved one’s body language might be telling you, especially if their dementia makes speech difficult.
Tips for communicating with a dementia patient who is non-verbal include:
- Use physical touch as a way of showing that you’re there for your loved one
- Respect their personal space and spend as much time as possible at eye level to avoid intimidating them
- Keep movements gentle and slow, as sudden changes in body language or tone of voice can startle and distress them
- Use your body language to reinforce what you’re saying, such as smiling when talking about happy memories
- Keep a log of what your loved one is trying to tell you through their body language so you can understand them better in the future
- Visual prompts, cue cards and communication apps can be effective ways of helping your loved one convey their feelings
- Consider complementary therapies, like art or music therapy, to help them express themselves
To learn more, keep reading our guide on how to talk to someone with dementia.
How Trinity Homecare Can Help
At Trinity Homecare, we understand that it can be difficult to watch your loved one’s dementia progress to the point where it affects their thought processes and speech. Our fully trained, compassionate carers are on hand to support you and your loved ones with these challenging symptoms, whether through complementary therapies or emotional support.
Family members of dementia patients often neglect self-care in order to look after the individual experiencing symptoms, which can leave you feeling burned out and exhausted. Trinity Homecare offers visiting care for regular respite, or comprehensive live-in care for round-the-clock support.
All of our carers strive to uphold your loved one’s dignity and independence, treating them with the utmost respect. They know what to expect with advanced dementia patients and can help them communicate through alternative methods, enabling them to live their lives the way they want for longer.
Talk To Us Today
At Trinity Homecare, our ultimate goal is to enrich your lifestyle in the comfort and familiarity of your own home. This allows you to live the independent lifestyle that you love without the daunting thought of moving into a care home. We are here to support you with various forms of live-in care.
Call us now on 0207 183 4884 in confidence for a free, no obligation quotation. If enquiring outside of our opening hours, please complete our online form and we will contact you the next day.
