UW Program to Feature Communicating With People Living With Dementia

Communicating with a person living with dementia can be challenging, but there are methods caregivers can use to make the process easier.

Carol Taylor, a Jackson licensed clinical social worker who specializes in elder care issues, will deliver that message during the next episode of “Once Again,” the YouTube video program sponsored by Wyoming Dementia Together (WDT), a statewide, nonprofit caregiver network operating through the University of Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA).

Taylor’s free public program titled “Enlightened Communication With Your Loved One” covers a variety of difficult situations caregivers may encounter, such as wandering, combativeness, hoarding, isolation and refusing to eat, bathe or take medications.

“It is important to try to view these experiences through the eyes of a person living with dementia,” Taylor says. “Many times, the caregiver can understand these unusual actions by realizing their person may be hungry, lonely, tired, or too hot or too cold. These are all ways persons living with dementia may use to communicate nonverbally after they have lost some communication abilities.”

Taylor’s discussion will be presented in two parts. Part one will be available beginning Wednesday, March 29, on the WDT YouTube channel, which can be found on YouTube by searching for “Wyoming Dementia Together -- Once Again.” Part two of Taylor’s discussion will be available on the same WDT YouTube channel beginning Wednesday, April 5.

Viewers are invited to subscribe to the channel and to click on the thumbs-up “like” button; both actions help the channel to grow and to reach more caregivers of loved ones with dementia. Comments and questions from viewers are encouraged in the section below the posted interviews.

“Once Again” is coordinated through the WyCOA WDT group, which includes dementia care professionals, licensed clinical social workers, physical and occupational therapists, and caregivers. The staff began meeting in fall 2020 and offers online programming help twice each month.

For more information, go to the WDT Caregiver Network website.

For information about registering for Zoom calls and the other free services offered by WDT, call WyCOA at (307) 766-2829 or email wycoa@uwyo.edu.