SITUATION:
A woman has Alzheimer's and has reverted back to her child hood she now only speaks spanish and you don't. How do you communicate with her as her soul caregiver?
A few SOLUTIONS:
Communicating with someone who has Alzheimer's is certainly tough at any time, even in your own language. It must be very frustrating. All you can do is to assist her and express your love and care for her, maybe not using spoken words.
Human beings have the ability to communicate irrespective of language.
Being an Alzheimer patient, it may be more difficult, but the challenge is to make the person feel reassured and who knows she may even regain her memory. I somehow believe in the power of communication, telepathy, will power
Non verbal communication is very powerful
Its amazing how much we can communicate affection and care without words. A spanish phrase book and a DVD or cassette tape of beginner spanish would be a good way to pick up a few simple comfort giving phrases. Also a thorough understanding of her life and experiences at that time would be valuable, if she had any relatives that could help.
I actually knew someone - several people, actually - who married into Mexican families. One woman in particular was very close to her Mexican mother-in-law, who only spoke Spanish. Their nonverbal communication with each other must have been very nurturing to this Anglo woman.
Question I was asked about this SITUATION:
Was this a situation you were in in the past or are in presently?
RESPONCE:
Yes this is a situations I was in. I owned and operated an adult foster care home and had senior services call me, They needed a place to place a lady on an emergency basis. I went and met her in the hospital and she spoke english fine but her daughter did most of the talking. So they moved her in the next day and she would only speak spanish. So my kids brought me books from their school library and I learned a few important words. So it all worked out.
Ok now lets here your SOLUTIONS and or any questions you may have...
I Thank you for your time on this.
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Comments: 24
Silent no more - http://www.dol.net/~srz
There is a magazine I subscribe to online called Caregiver's. They have a section where you write in to get advice. Do you subscribe to it?
I thank You so much.
This same lady would not feed her self any more but I figured out that if I rolled her food up into a tortilla she ate on her own.
I truly believe people should remain dependent as long as possible. So no matter what we ate I rolled it up like a burrito and she was very happy...
I believe caregiving is in the heart. It's not something one can just do for anyone they really need to care...
You are very kind-hearted.
During my caregiver years i always cared for people how I would want my parent to be cared for. In hopes that one day when I needed the care I would find someone as caring as I to care for me.
I truly miss the hands on caregiving but if one is willing they will always definitely find a way to help others...
Jewel, I think, in this one beautiful statement you made, you answered your own question. As long as we have people like you who think this way, we all will have excellent caregivers!
Thank you.
Her children are in denial.
Thanks I am hoping by posting these situations and different people commenting with solutions we can briefly make someones life a little simpler.
I would appreciate it if any one has any situations to dicuse just e.Mail them to me and I'll get the ball rolling.
Priscilla,
I dought the children are in denial a lot of family members are just afraid to face facts sometimes especially when it comes to alzhiemers disease. i think they get frightened as it could happen to them.
I am sorry that you and your family are going threw this situation my best advice would be to stay calm live everyday as a new day. When she forgets or believes something to be true there is no disputing the fact as in her mind it is true. So we sometimes have to step in their worlds to deal with the situation.
i will be posting an article on this in the near future.
Amanda,
Thanks you are so kind. i am not dealing with this situation any more but I strongly hope we are helping others that are...
thanks for your solution they all help...
Alzheimer's is such an insidious disease in that it impacts every single recipient differently---some lose physical and mental abilities in a matter of months, while others can carry on for years with some abilities to cope left intact. I think what I have read in the replies above is that regardless of how good or bad a given situation may be, the best we can do is simply recognize those changes and offer real, sympathetic care.
Yes, it's tough; and frankly some folks can't put out the extroardinary empathy that's oftentimes demanded. So Jewel, folks like you are indeed special.
Don thank you to and everyone for their comments here...