Caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s takes a great deal of patience. Jo Huey, an Alzheimer’s caregiver for over 30 years, shares the following ten compassionate strategies that she learned based on her own personal experiences.
- Agree, never argue
- Divert, never reason
- Distract, never shame
- Reassure, never lecture
- Reminisce, never say “remember”
- Repeat, never say “I told you”
- Say “do what you can“, never say “you can’t”
- Ask, never demand
- Encourage, never condescend
- Reinforce, never force
Huey, 1996