Communication with Cognitively Impaired Residents/ Patients

Course overview

As a health care provider, you are likely to care for an individual with cognitive impairment, as many institutions take care of adults with this condition. Individuals with moderate to severe cognitive impairment often require special care, including supervision round the clock, specialized communication techniques, and management of difficult behavior. They commonly need help with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, eating, transferring from bed to a chair or wheelchair, using the toilet and/or other personal care. Because communication is essential to good care, you must be able to overcome some of the common obstacles to communication that they encounter. This chapter will discuss strategies to make communication with cognitively impaired individuals more effective.