Name: Unlocking effective dementia communication: insights from Tim England
Uploaded: 2023-07-05T04:53:35.717Z
Duration: 584.13

Tim England Edited.mp4

Tim England Edited.vtt

Subtitles

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Hi, and welcome to

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this interview Tim.

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It's a pleasure for

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me to be here with

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you and talking about,

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communication in dementia.

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So to start with, can you

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introduce yourself to our

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audience to tell them like

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what you do and who you are?

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Absolutely.

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It'd be a pleasure.

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I'm very passionate about

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raising the level of

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awareness, in the general

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public, regarding dementia

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and supporting families.

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Who, look after people with

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dementia and also people who

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are living with the condition.

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So I'm very active out

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in the community to raise

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the level of awareness

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in a multitude of areas

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As a dementia consultant

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and, educator can you

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share some insight or some

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key strategies that, we

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can use to communicate

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effectively with people

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affected by this pathology?

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That, that, that's a very

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good question actually.

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Because, We, we all as

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professionals, and even

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a lot of people who, are

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carers, people with dementia,

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understand the challenges.

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Now, there's,

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there's memory loss.

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There's difficulty finding

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words and, and repeating

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phrases and so forth, so we

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understand what's going on.

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But what we don't quite always

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remember is the person with

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dementia, even though they're

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having problems trying to

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communicate, the desire for

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them to stay connected and to

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communicate with everybody,

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it, it doesn't diminish.

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That desire is still there.

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Even though they're having

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issues trying to get

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words together or phrase

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together, they still

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want to feel connected.

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They still want, they've

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still got a strong

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desire to communicate.

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So sometimes we, as the

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general public, we forget

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that and just go, we'll cut

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people off or we'll talk

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over them, or we'll say

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words on their behalf and

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not give them the time to

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say or try to communicate what

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they're trying to communicate.

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And they're not always

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using words to communicate.

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They could be using

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actions, body language.

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There's a series of things.

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They can use facial

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expressions to try to

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communicate what they wanna

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get across because the desire

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in built in them is still

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strong in there no matter

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where they are regarding

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their level of dementia.

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Yeah.

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And there are any tools

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or,  ways that we can,

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use to improve the way

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we communicate with them.

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Look, there is a, there's a,

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a plethora of tools out there.

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You can just go on

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the internet and just

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Google, communications

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techniques for dementia.

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And there are, there are

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pages and pages of, cheat

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sheets and help sheets.

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They're all out there.

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There's, there's

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a lot of them.

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And you follow them because

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they, they all follow

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the same basic rules

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like you had eye contact,

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slow down, be precise.

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Listening, active listening

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skills, work with a person,

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and that's all very important.

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But there's an underlying

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thing that I wanna put across

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to people is you need to

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start to understand what the,

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the disease that's causing

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the dementia condition is

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really due to the brain and

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how it's affecting their

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ability to communicate.

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So you can understand

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that not why a technique

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works, but, more as in.

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How it's working

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best for them.

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And some techniques will

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work for one person and

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not for another, not.

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There's no silver bullet.

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There's no general rule

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that affects everybody.

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Everyone's unique.

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If you've got

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children, anyone's

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got, kids have learned.

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The way you communicate with

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a child and different children

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varies with each child.

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It's the same to

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someone with dementia.

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It's not that they're

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childlike, but you need to

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treat them as individuals.

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They're trying to communicate,

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but you have to, as the

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communicator, you have to

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change your style, your

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ability, and be flexible

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to connect with that

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person, to allow them to

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get their message across.

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Empathy probably is one of

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the most important thing

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when trying to communicate

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with people with dementia.

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Oh, it's, it's

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frightfully important.

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Yeah.

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Patience, empathy,

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understanding.

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Realizing that person

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is still a person.

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You know?

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It, it's like we, we were

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all taught as a child growing

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up, you know, manners.

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Please thank empathy,

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focus, patience.

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That's all very, very true

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with someone with dementia.

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You need to not just feel

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empathy, but actually show it.

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Yeah.

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And actually be

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involved with that.

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You want to be part of them

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and, hold, basically hold

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their hand and guide them

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and say, look, it's okay.

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You're getting the,

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the words wrong.

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It's like one of our

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speaks today, Kevin.

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He was having a few struggles,

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but everyone in the room

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went, you know what,

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he's up there on stage.

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He has dementia, he's

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talking, we're gonna give

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him all the time he needs

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to get across his message.

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And that's where empathy

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really comes into it.

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Yeah.

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It's important to have this,

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empathy in place when you try

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to communicate with people

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with, with dementia and, what

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are some proactive approaches

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that, healthcare practitioners

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or people that are dealing

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with people with dementia

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and trying to communicate

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with them can use to be,

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to, to have a supportive

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communicating approach?

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With, in this environment

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and minimize the, the,

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these challenges that comes,

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we're trying to communicate.

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Look, another very good

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question that there's

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lots of variables.

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You haven't just got the

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individual with the condition,

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but you've also gotta think

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about what's the environment?

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Is there distractions?

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Is there noise in

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the background?

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Does the person you're

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talking with, do they

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have a hearing aid?

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Is that hearing aid working?

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Are the batteries working?

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Do they have glasses that

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gonna affect their vision?

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Have they had enough sleep?

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Are they, are they got a flu?

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There are all these

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other factors that can

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actually impact their

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level of communication.

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And we as the instigator

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communication, we need

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to be aware of that.

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Just, just being in a

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room where there's a TV

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playing in the background.

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It could be a distraction

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enough for the person you are

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communicating with doesn't

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quite hear what you're saying.

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So go to quite a location.

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Go where it's not

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nearly as busy.

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Sit the person down.

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And be give that eye contact,

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that one-on-one so that

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person feels I'm connecting

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with you as a person.

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And all of us can do that.

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All professionals can do that.

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All general members of the

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general public can do that.

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It's just stop and thinking,

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okay, is this environment

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we're in right now?

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Is it the best location

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for this communication?

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If it's not, let's go

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somewhere quieter or

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somewhere's more appropriate.

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Yeah.

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Simple things like that.

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It's, it's every person

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is different from one.

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Absolutely.

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So you need to understand,

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you are talking with, What's

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their main problem, you know?

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Mm-hmm.

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But what are some general

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guidelines you want to give

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to these people like that?

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Some gen, some

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general guidelines.

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Slow things down.

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You know, slow down the

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pace of your talking

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like I'm doing right now.

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We Australians tend

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to talk a little bit

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fast, so slow that down.

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Choose your words carefully.

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Be careful what you say.

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Don't say things like, oh,

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I've already told you that,

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or, don't you remember,

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because they're not, so,

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you break it down, you know?

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Or when you ask 'em a

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question, slow down.

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Say things like, would

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you like a cup of tea or

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a cup of coffee Break?

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Give us a simple choice.

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You, you, and you're not.

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Speaking to the person

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as if they're a child,

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but you have to think

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a little bit childlike.

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Like if you are a father

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or you're a mother,

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you've got young children.

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We instantly know that.

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Three or four or five

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year old, we have to

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relate to their level.

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Sometimes we'll get down to

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their level, give 'em an icon,

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and slow the conversation down

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in a way they can understand.

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We do the same thing with

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people that, adults with

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dementia, no, they're not a

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child, so we're not treated

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as a child, but we break the

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language down to a way which

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they understand, and I'm doing

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it right now just by doing it.

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Simple words in a rhythmic way

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helps the person understand.

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Nod, eye contact, all of those

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things, body language, it all

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helps with that communication

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link with the individual.

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Yeah.

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And, looking at

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the future, yeah.

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We know like there are like a

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lot of technologies coming in.

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Ai Yeah.

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We are evolving always

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to make things easier

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in our life, I think.

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Yeah.

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How you think we can use

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this technology to help

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people with dementia?

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Look, that's, that's a

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really open-ended question.

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If someone said 10, 15

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years ago that we'd be

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using our smartphones as

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a form of communication.

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Like I, yesterday, I just rang

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a friend of mine in Colorado.

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You know, I'm on a

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phone speaking halfway

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around the world.

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Really?

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15 years ago.

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Unheard of.

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So we don't know what's ahead.

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We dunno what, how AI or

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other technology are gonna

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come again to assist.

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I think the bottom line's

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gotta be two things.

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One, we still gotta

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keep it analog.

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Okay.

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We still gotta keep it.

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It's still.

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Human contact with human

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contact, you still need, we

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still need that, that touch

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and that, that wellbeing and

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even simple things like that.

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Touching someone to

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get their attention.

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You can do that face to

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face technology, maybe

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not, but there is still

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a place for technology.

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What it's gonna be has gonna

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involve, we don't know.

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But what we have to do

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is embrace it, don't be

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afraid of it, and work

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it in the best for our

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particular environment.

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So the like AI for

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AI, for example.

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We don't know how it's

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gonna change things.

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Don't be afraid of it.

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Be careful how we embrace it,

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but work it out that's gonna

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work best for this individual

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communication environment.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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That's, that's pretty much.

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All the question

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I had for you.

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I hope that,  our audience

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will, will take the, your

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insight, your tips and try

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to apply them to improve

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their communication with

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people with, with dementia.

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Yeah.

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Look, thank you.

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It is, thank you

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for the opportunity.

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I really appreciate it.

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And, good luck with

{{00:09:36}}
the convention.

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Okay.

Expert Insight

Get ready to gain valuable insights on effective communication with individuals affected by dementia in this engaging video interview with Tim, a renowned dementia champion and consultant. 

Tim's expertise shines as he stresses the significance of empathy, patience, and understanding when engaging with individuals living with dementia. 

By following Tim's expert tips, you'll be empowered to enhance communication and forge deeper connections with individuals living with dementia.

Dementia

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Tim England

Dementia Consultant & Educator

Key strategies for effective communication with people with dementia.

The importance of Empathy

Proactive approaches for supportive communication with people with Dementia

General Guidelines for effective communication with people with Dementia

Future Outlook on communication with people with Dementia

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Dementia Care (7).png

Unlocking effective dementia communication: insights from Tim England

Mental Health