What to do when vascular dementia causes your husband of communication

Clarajo · October 20

We are at the stage of his dementia where we cannot carry on a conversation. I cannot understand what he is trying to say. He has many health issues and I am afraid I won’t be able to know what is wrong.

This is my first post. I don’t know what to do.

Thanks

53roses · October 20

I don’t know if this will help you but we have a speech therapist for my husband. He is just starting to have trouble with words so we can stilll have conversations. Medicare will pay for it if your doctor recommends it.

SDianeL · October 21

it depends on what type of dementia he has. Sometimes types cause language difficulty in earlier stages. It helps if you look at him when you speak and speak slowly and ask short simple questions. I found that a speech therapist didn’t work for my husband because his short term memory was gone and he couldn’t remember what they told him to do. Below is a chart showing the 7 stages of dementia but remember it’s only a guideline and behaviors can show up earlier or later.

towhee · October 22

An occupational or speech therapist is a good idea. You can use gestures to some extent. Pictures might help. Teepa Snow has some youtube videos on recognizing pain although the sound quality of the videos can be bad. Also, if you google Teepa Snow and pain, she gave a class to Comfort Keepers which is supposedly free to watch online. I did not watch but it might be worth checking out.

harshedbuzz · October 22

@Clarajo

Dementia may rob you both of meaningful conversations and intimate inside jokes, but behavior is communication. The nonverbal channel carries the majority of content in most exchanges.

While this is a special worry in terms of how you can be his best medical advocate, you will likely sense when he needs medical attention through his behavior.

HB

What to do when vascular dementia causes your husband of communication

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