World Alzheimer’s Day

On World Alzheimer’s Day, we asked our Senior Community Social Care Supervisor, Mary Tuffy* to share her tips and experience about caring for people living with dementia in their own home.

There are 64,000 people living with dementia in Ireland of which Alzheimer’s thought to be the most common form. This number is expected to double by 2045.

Tom Kitwood who has conducted extensive research in this area, defines dementia as ‘remembering yesterday and living to-day’.

“Years ago, there was a stigma around a person with dementia and the trend was to hide them away. Nowadays the objective is for people to live as independently as possible” Mary said.

Mary went on to share practical tips from her 30 years of supporting clients with dementia, and their families:

• If the person is in bad humour or has had a bad night, empathise with them. Say ‘I am sorry to hear that’. Don’t say ‘you are looking good’.
• Listening is very important. Bring the person into the conversation.
• Include the person all the time. It is important to maintain his or her identity.
• In an attempt to protect the person with dementia, well intentioned people may tell white lies. This is not the recommended practice. It is best to be honest, in a sensitive manner without frustration although you might be repeating the same message over and over again.
• In the case of memory loss, you cannot lie.  For example if the person says they plan to visit their deceased parent tomorrow, perhaps try to find a memorial card of their deceased parent to show them. It is not appropriate to say “yes, we will go to visit them tomorrow.”

Here is a real life example of a person with dementia living at home, and whose family have safety concerns:

Mary encountered a lady with dementia who stepped out onto the road, potentially endangering herself, during her daily walk to the newsagent. Her husband’s inclination was to put his wife’s safety first,  which led to him suggesting she be “locked” in the home whenever he was out. Instead of feeling protected which was the intention, the lady felt like she had a babysitter.

The lady did not agree to the suggestion of having the newspaper delivered instead. She enjoyed her daily excursion, and having a chat when buying the paper. She didn’t like walking there with her husband, as he outpaced her and would get impatient while she chatted to staff in the shop.

The solution that was acceptable to the lady was that our carer would accompany the lady to the shops each morning. This allowed our client to retain her independence and her important daily activity. The presence of our carer reassured her husband, whose primary concern was always about his wife’s safety, which led to his original actions.

• Behaviour is a way of communicating feelings. It is important to always remain calm. Reassurance eases anxiety and sorrow, and can calm difficult emotions for the person with dementia.

Inclusiveness, and kindness through good communications, both help to retain a sense of identity and belonging for the person with dementia.

*With 30 years experience in caring,  Mary has worked in The Mater Hospitals, both public and private, and Leopardstown Park Hospital before joining Private HomeCare.

As  Senior Social Care Community Supervisor, Mary’s role is to assess the care that is needed for each client to live at home. Mary assesses this through meeting clients and home visits.