Today is World Alzheimer’s Day.  We would like to take this opportunity to honour both people with Alzheimer’s and also their caregivers.

The aim of this blog is both to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and to give a few hints to how better communicate with people who are losing cognitive abilities.

There are a few basic principles which we would like to share with you.   Please feel free to share with others as well.

a)      Firstly introduce yourself and address the person by their name.  This means that you will limit possibilities of confusion.

b)      Beware of facial  expressions and body language.

c)       Do not get angry however hard the conversation is.

d)      Try to be as simple as possible in both your choice of words and sentences. If you have to impart any instructions please just do one at a time.

e)      Be patient. It can be tough for both parties.

Finally you may not feel that the conversation has been successful by your estimation. But remember sometimes the conversation is there just to show your love and support for the person with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

If you have any other tips or advice about communication with a person with Alzheimer’s please share with our other readers in the comments box below.

Finally we have produced a graphic below to commemorate World Alzheimer’s Day. It would be great if you could share it with family and friends across the internet to help us raise awareness of World Alzheimer’s Day 2013.