How to Use Pictures with Dementia Patients

By Jamie Shapiro | June 20, 2018 | Comments Off on How to Use Pictures with Dementia Patients

It can be difficult to communicate with older adults who have dementia. This is especially true when the person has lost their ability to communicate verbally. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be reached. One way to connect with dementia patients is to use pictures as a form of communication. They can be used to do things like remind the person where to find something or to help them to reminisce.

Elderly Care in Lake Forest IL: Using Pictures to Help Dementia Patients

Elderly Care in Lake Forest IL: Using Pictures to Help Dementia Patients

Kinds of Pictures to Use.

When you think of using pictures with an older adult who has dementia, you may immediately think of old family photographs. While family photos may be helpful in some situations, there are all kinds of pictures you can use depending on the situation, such as:

  • Family Pictures: Pictures of family members and friends can be helpful in the early stages of dementia to assist the person in remembering important people. In the later stages, though, the person may not remember having gotten married or having grandchildren, so pictures of those people will be meaningless.
  • Landmarks: Pictures of places can help seniors in the early stages to reminisce about places they have been and things they have done. Again, the pictures may become meaningless in later stages.
  • Objects: Photographs of objects can help to remind older adults where certain items are kept. For example, you might put a picture of a shirt on a dresser drawer containing shirts.
  • Personalized Pictures: For some people, pictures of specific items may be more personalized to them. For example, if your aging relative was a dairy farmer, seeing pictures of cows or milk buckets might be comforting to them.

Tips for Using Pictures.

Although the pictures that will connect with seniors vary from one to the next, there are some generalized tips for how to use them that can help, including:

  • Chronological Order: When putting a photo album together, put the pictures in chronological order.
  • Keep it Simple: Picture books should be kept simple as too many items on a page can be confusing to someone with dementia. Place just one or two pictures on each page and label them.
  • Organize Sections: Give people each their own section of the photo album to help the older adult recognize relationships. Again, keep the photos in time order.
  • Talk About Photos: Look through photos with the older adult and ask questions that encourage them to reminisce. Keep questions open ended, like, “Tell me what your sister was like.”

 

Elderly care providers can also use pictures to engage seniors with dementia. By sitting with the person and looking through photo albums, elderly care providers can forge a connection. Looking at the pictures will help the elderly care provider get to know the individual better, so they can better personalize their care. Elderly care providers can also use pictures to help remind older adult who visitors are by showing the person a picture before the visitor arrives.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Lake Forest, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

 

Sources

https://myageingparent.com/health/mental-health/dementia-and-how-pictures-can-help/

https://www.alzheimers.net/10-6-14-memories-photos/

https://www.alzheimersweekly.com/2015/08/10-ways-to-use-power-of-photos-for.html

 

Jamie Shapiro
Latest posts by Jamie Shapiro (see all)
Posted in Alzheimer's and Dementia Care, Elderly Care in Lake Forest IL and tagged