People with dementia route: communication and well-being

Many of the people receiving care at the centres have cognitive impairment or dementia. These are people who have special needs but who still have rights and an identity of their own that requires acceptance and protection by those who care for them.

Communication is a key aspect of good care for people with dementia. Appropriate communication with people with dementia is an essential strategy to promote well-being and to prevent and address behavioural disturbances that can occur when the environment around them becomes confusing.

However, communication with the person with dementia is not always easy. It requires attention and the development of certain attitudes and skills on the part of the person accompanying and caring for them. We professionals need support for this.

The measures required by Covid19 have shown the special difficulties of people with dementia in many of the situations experienced and how communication takes on a special importance in supporting these people.

This route tries to bring us closer to several of the issues that favour well-being through adequate communication between the person accompanying and the person being accompanied. All of this is based on a reflection, first individually and then as a team, on our attitudes and beliefs about cognitive impairment and people with dementia.