caregiver (cg) has considerable difficulty communicating with Care recipient (cr)

Try: Approach the cr from the front make good eye contact and kneel if necessary focus on the cr and give your undivided attention say the cr’s name before you begin talking if the cr is hard of hearing try to reduce background noise speak slowly and loudly enough for the cr to hear you but don’t exaggerate your lip movements as this will interfere with a cr cr’s lip reading efforts smile stay calm flexible open and guiding but not controlling be aware of your body language and tone of voice only 7 of communication comes from the words that you say 38 comes from the tone of your voice and 58 comes from your body language use touch when it is welcomed and gestures when appropriate don’t do all the talking remember that communication is a two-way process stick with the cr’s subject first before you try to change it go with the flow of the conversation to get the cr involved be an active listener many crs stop talking because they do not feel anyone is listening talk to the cr at mealtimes this is usually a good time to socialize find out what the cr’s world is and enter it if the cr is unable to stay oriented to reality don’t frustrate both of you by insisting on it try once or twice at a time and then let it go for a bit when you cannot understand what the cr is saying ask closed questions that let him or her give you a yes or no answer or that let you know the cr cr’s preference between two choices don’t tell the cr what to do providing a choice or options shows the cr that you respect his or her judgment and opinion don’t argue with the cr unecessarily state your limitations give him or her a few options and try not to aggravate the situation treat the cr as an adult rather than a child allow negative feelings to be expressed by the cr and encourage open discussion then try to steer the conversation to something more positive

Materials: n/a

Categories: Communication, Good Hearing, So-So Hearing, So-So Verbal Comm, So-So L T Memory, So-So S T Memory

Information: n/a

References: n/a

Keywords: n/a

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

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