Dementia Care: Communicating When Someone Has Dementia

Course overview

This course will help learners develop better interaction skills when working with people living with dementia (PLwD). Using a consistent and sequential cueing system is part of developing skillful communication in dementia care. Beginning all interactions with a positive physical approach (PPA), a positive personal connection (PPC), and a positive action starter (PAS) greatly reduces the risk of negative encounters and problematic interactions. The use of person-first, "go with the flow" responses and improved non-verbal strategies will be demonstrated to foster better understanding of messages and requests as well as better participation with fewer episodes of distress or frustration.