Caregiver Guide To Dementia: Expert Tips From A Speech-Language Pathologist

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be both rewarding—and challenging.

In this caregiver guide to dementia, speech-language pathologist and university instructor Alisha Kleindel shares her favorite strategies and resources from 15 years of working with people with dementia and their caregivers.  

To make your life even easier, we list all of these resources in the end—with links!

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1. Caregiver Guide To Dementia: Educate About Dementia 

Educate care partners about dementia and how it may impact communication, cognition, and swallowing, now and in the future. Knowing what changes and deficits to expect can help care partners anticipate challenges and adjust their care.

Recommend websites and offer resources, such as printed handouts or brochures (Zientz et al., 2007).  The National Institute on Aging’s What Is Dementia? Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis, has useful information and advice.

And the National Institute of Healthcare and Excellence offers helpful information about common changes that occur in patients with dementia.

Ask care partners if they have noticed changes in the patient’s ability to complete daily tasks, communicate, or swallow. Help them adjust their care accordingly.

2. Caregiver Communication Strategies For Dementia

Dementia can significantly impact expressive language, language comprehension, and social interaction. 

Here are helpful strategies to help care partners better communicate with a person with dementia:

  • Give the patient enough time to communicate.
  • Use simple, clear language. 
  • Provide choices and yes/no questions. 
  • Accept any form of communication. 
  • Add visual cues as needed, such as written words and pictures.
  • Use nonverbal communication, such as gestures.
  • Modify the environment to support communication. Reduce distractions and eliminate background noise whenever possible.
  • Encourage conversation.

For more communication strategies, see The MESSAGE Communication Strategies In Dementia, developed by The University of Queensland in Australia. It’s an evidence-based communication approach for care partners of patients with dementia. Care partners can also watch the university’s YouTube videos for more guidance.

Another helpful resource for care partners is this downloadable infographic by the National Institute on Aging:

Infographic by the National Institute on Aging.

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3. Swallowing Safety & Dysphagia Management for Dementia

As dementia progresses, patients often develop a swallowing disorder. This means that they are at an increased risk of aspiration, dehydration, and malnutrition. 

Speech therapy professionals can train care partners in:

4. Cognitive & Safety Supports For Dementia

Speech therapy can also help care partners keep patients safe during activities of daily living and maintain as much cognitive function as possible (Medical Advisory Secretariat, 2008). 

Ways to improve safety and cognition include:

5. Encourage Self-Care for Care Partners

Unfortunately, the high demands of caregiving can lead to care partner burnout. 

Encourage care partners to prioritize self-care, ask for help, participate in support groups, and take advantage of respite to maintain their well-being. We’ll offer specific suggestions in the sections below.

Read the National Institute on Aging’s Taking Care of Yourself: Tips for Caregivers for more guidance.

6. Dementia Caregivers’ Support Groups

Encourage interested care partners to find local support groups.

Organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) and the Family Caregiver Alliance offer in-person and virtual support groups to connect care partners of people with dementia.

7. Dementia Care Training Programs

Caregiver Guide To Dementia: By A Speech-Language Pathologist

Recommend dementia care training programs for interested care partners. Here are some on-line options. You can also search for local, in-person trainings.

8. Respite Care Services for Dementia

Respite care offers temporary rest for the care partners of people with dementia. Examples of respite care are local adult day programs and in-home care services.

These programs ensure that the patient with dementia is safe while providing their carers a much-needed break.

Also encourage caregivers to ask for help from family and friends.

Dementia Caregiver Resources & Links

Here are all of the caregiver resources mentioned in this post! Bookmark this page to share with care partners and to use in your practice.

Educate about Dementia

Communication and Dementia

Dementia and Dysphagia

Dementia and Cognition and Safety

Caregiver Well-Being: Self-Care, Support Groups, and Respite

Caregiver Training Programs

Speech Therapy and Dementia Materials

Visit our shop for speech therapy materials designed for people with dementia and other common diagnoses!

Memory Workbook Pack for adult speech therapy
executive functioning workbook pack for cognitive rehabilitation

References

Adult Speech Therapy

Alisha Kleindel is an instructor of speech-language pathology at Midwestern University with over 15 years of full-time speech therapy work experience. Miwa Aparo is a researcher, editor, and occupational therapist. Chung Hwa Brewer is an SLP and instructor at Western Washington University’s Communication Science Disorders program. More about us →