Excessive talking, also known as garrulity, is associated with , or .
You would have heard of many elderly people repeating stories over and over again. Family members and caregivers everywhere complain about the long and winding narration, which sometimes makes no sense. But, while these speeches can be tedious to endure, they are an important communication technique as well as a coping mechanism for a dementia patient who is slowly losing their memory.
4 Common Types of Dementia
(AD) is the most common type of . According to the ‘s Association, the majority of cases; 60 to 80 percent to be exact are found to be caused by AD.
The early signs of AD include depression, forgetting names, inability to recall recent incidents they saw or read, why they entered a particular room, or what they were supposed to do with a familiar object.
The of a person with Alzheimer’s begin to die as the chemical functions of the tend to change. This is why seniors experience confusion and sudden mood shifts.
They also have like difficulty speaking, choosing the right words to express their thoughts, or evolving into a . A with could experience and forget how to walk properly.
2.
is the second most common type of . It is caused by insufficient blood flow to the . Seniors with severe heart are at high risk for . The for getting is higher in old age and after a stroke.
may appear suddenly or slowly, depending on its cause. An early sign of this type of is confusion. The senior adult may often look perplexed as you talk to him/her about the usual, mundane stuff.
During moderate to severe stages of dementia, the may experience trouble accomplishing a task or concentrating for a long time as starts getting a hold on them.
can also cause vision impairment, as well as hallucinations with .
3.
or with Lewy bodies is a result of protein deposits in nerve cells. This causes an interruption in the function and results in and disorientation.
This type of shares a lot of manifestations of ‘s and Parkinson’s diseases with patients reporting common events like fainting, wandering off and getting lost. They also suffer from shaking or shivering hands, have trouble walking, and feel weakness in the limbs.
4. Parkinson’s
Problems with reasoning ability and poor judgment are major indicators of early PD. A senior with this type of suffers from and has difficulty understanding visual information and comprehending doing simple tasks of daily life. Another rather distressing is that they may face confusing and frightening hallucinations.
Advanced PD can cause seniors to be very irritable and depressed. The may suffer from paranoia as they progress to .
The shows ; they may often leave sentences unfinished, forget a word in the middle of talking, and even show signs of , leading to complete a withdrawal.
We can also talk about , which is caused by a family of diseases known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). is estimated to account for up to 10 percent of all cases of .
Frontotemporal dementia is usually more common in younger people when compared with the other types of . According to statistics, about sixty percent of people with FTLD are between the ages of 45 and 64.
In the early stages of frontotemporal disorders, people may have only one . But as neurons in more and more parts of the become affected, other symptoms may develop
For the most part, is an irreversible .
If alcohol and substance abuse are also likely to cause . In such cases, reversing the damage is sometimes possible, but according to extensive studies and research, the reverse is likely to happen in less than 20 percent of patients with .
In this case, a trained can offer inclusive services to help your loved one stave off and troubling physical condition, and lead a normal life in golden years while aging in place with cherished memories and family.
Why do some patients talk non stop?
You, like many family members and caregivers of people with , often feel drained after listening to the elderly sense talk for hours on end, and sometimes, they do not even make sense of what they say.
If you are wondering why they have become so chatty all of a sudden, there are a couple of explanations that you might want to go over.
The for your elderly adult behaving like a is because they see you as the one who is always leading the conversation. They have a deep need to engage with you, but, they also have this drive to remain in charge of the conversation or else they often feel anxious, stupid, and even depressed.
This is also one of the reasons why often tasks about old stories that they remember; it is because they can have dialogues with other people instead of being the one who is listening to someone all the time.
As the goes through , is inevitable and communication abilities decline. As the , you can encourage even small attempts by the dementia at social interactions as these are crucial for maintaining relationships and preventing feelings of loneliness.
How can you encourage a in severe dementia stages to communicate better?
When a person with moderate to starts showing signs do wanting to talk, you can respond at certain times by asking to elaborate further. This is a supportive method that lets them know you want to talk with them.
Now, as a family member or , you can also have someone take videos of them reminiscing about old times. This is because patients will gradually lose their ability to repeat stories. In the meantime, the videos you captured may even provide important personal information that will be helpful throughout your caregiving journey.
The best thing you can do is to listen to a loved one’s stories so that you and the whole family get to know the better. this is a great way of reestablishing connections.
Repeating things, again and again, is also a sign of worsening .
patients’ brains are incapable of remembering things that have already been saying. If the is a factor, it’s likely that the repetition will only get worse, so mastering empathy and self-control is paramount for caregivers.
Research suggests that verbal repetition is more common among individuals in the earlier stages of and among those with ’s versus other types of .
Elderly patients with will often repeat a word, statement, question, or activity over and over. While this type of behavior is usually harmless for the person with , it can be annoying and stressful to caregivers. Sometimes the behavior is triggered by anxiety, boredom, fear, or environmental factors.
What can you do as a caregiver?
It is truly a hard time for the family members and caregivers, but there are certain things you can do to provide reassurance and comfort:
One is, you can try distracting the patient with a snack or activity. Give them their favorite snack to munch on, or play the music that they love. You can even ask them to help in small chores like folding laundry.
The next thing is to avoid reminding them that they just asked the same question. For instance, if they somehow got it into their head that they had a doctor’s appointment, and keep asking when to go even after you said they don’t need to, you can simply say that the doctor called in a couple of minutes ago to say that they are not expected to visit until next week.
Thirdly, if your elderly loved one with dementia keeps asking about the time to go to an event, don’t discuss plans until immediately prior to an event.
Learn to recognize certain behaviors. An agitated state or pulling at clothing, for example, could indicate a need to use the bathroom.
We understand how trying and difficult it can be to accommodate a dementia patient’s incessant chatter and the volley of questions, but the key is to understand that the reason they are behaving this way is because of a disease and that it can happen to you too as you get older.
