Meet Helen!

Helen has a great understanding of Dementia and does an amazing job at working with the individual to ensure that the best techniques are used for the individual. This helps our clients to be more themselves and to make sure that their opinion is valued and respected in regards to their care.

With the training you’ve done and the work that you do you have done a great job at putting it into practice in the workplace. Was there anything about your training that stood out to you as interesting or something you didn’t know?

Dementia has many forms that stop an individual’s brain cells from working properly and can affect specific areas of the brain. There are around 200 subtypes of Dementia, the most common being Alzheimer’s, Vascular, Lewy Body, Frontotemporal, and Mixed Dementia involving a combination of types.

Each form of Dementia can affect an individual differently and vary in severity and progression which can be disabling, affecting certain areas of the brain.

The frontal lobe is the part of the brain which controls word production, problem-solving, planning, behavioural control, and emotion. When an individual is affected with Dementia, common symptoms include changes in behaviour, speech, and mood.

The parietal lobe controls sensory information in the brain, where common symptoms include problems with perception, judging distances, and three-dimensional spaces.

The orbital lobe controls vision. Dementia symptoms may include problems with reading, recognising faces, and distinguishing shapes.

The temporal lobe controls how we understand words and controls emotions. Dementia symptoms may include emotional changes and difficulty finding words.

The hippocampus in the brain is involved with memory. Individuals with Dementia can have pronounced lapses in memory or memory loss, usually affecting short-term memory.

The brainstem controls breathing, body temperature, digestion, alertness, sleep, and swallowing. A decline in functioning is evident as symptoms of Dementia progress.

The cerebellum in the brain controls balance, coordination, control of voluntary movement and fine muscle control. This area of the brain can become affected as Dementia worsens.

What skill do you think is essential when working with people with dementia?

Communication is a key element to understanding how a person lives with Dementia. It is important to acknowledge that the person living with Dementia is not labelled as just having Dementia.

There is a person inside that is still there, they just have difficulty expressing who they are and their needs and preferences, which can come to the surface if given the right person-centred approach by focusing on the person and not the disease, which requires compassion, patience, empathy and understanding.

Are there any techniques you find particularly beneficial to support people with dementia?

People living with Dementia have a personality hidden behind their condition. A technique that works is to simply just give them the time and interest in getting to know them beyond their diagnosis of Dementia.

Each individual with Dementia is a unique individual, so it is important to adapt communication to include the individual by using aids or simplified questions to find out about their likes and dislikes.

Taking into account their views and opinions concerning their care and encouraging their active participation to promote their feelings of being valued and respected, can enhance their quality of life, health and wellbeing.

Using active listening skills, simplified verbal questions, understanding their nonverbal ways of communicating, and knowledge of the individual from their care plan is crucial as a basis for building their trust and confidence in you.

What is it that you enjoy about your role?

Supporting people with Dementia can be difficult at first overcoming the barriers, but once you do it is both surprising and very rewarding at the same time.

My own success stories are working to break down communication barriers to gain the level of trust with the client and have meaningful relationships that enable you to support them at the same time.

Supporting a client with Dementia can be a complex situation as each person has needs that vary. Care and support needs to be person-centred to support their quality of life and wellbeing. It is a rewarding and challenging journey to find the person within and takes time to establish a positive outcome and a two-way relationship.

It is the best feeling caring for someone with Dementia and watching their personality rise to the surface, gaining their trust, seeing their confidence grow in their abilities, sharing smiles and laughter and knowing with your support they feel valued and respected and you are making a difference to them living a fulfilling and happy life.