The document discusses communication with the elderly and outlines several key challenges and strategies. It notes that communication is important for health but declines with age due to sensory and cognitive changes. Barriers include hearing loss, vision loss, and speech/language difficulties. However, activities like social groups, one-on-one visits, and assistive tools can help overcome challenges and promote interaction. The document stresses the importance of listening skills, making elders comfortable, and finding ways for them to communicate effectively.

1. Communicating with the
Elderly
ASM 150
Paige Thompson
April 2015

2. Overview
Communication is incredibly important to a healthy
lifestyle on many levels, and as a member of Activity and
Recreation Therapy staff, it will be my job to encourage
healthy communication through certain activities,
exercises, events and programs.

3. Key points from Chapter 1
 “Communication is the cohesive force in every human
culture and the dominant influence in the personal life
of every one of us.”
 “The form and function of communication vary with the
basic personality types and age characteristics of the
persons involved.”
 The mental facilities of the elderly change as a person
ages, especially those that pertain to communication,
like senses to memory.

4. “Communication is the cohesive force in every human
culture and the dominant influence in the personal life of
every one of us.”
The elderly tend to withdraw and disengage, but this can
be made better through interpersonal communication.
Communication is therapeutic and it gives people a kind
of strength, linking them to their environment and helping
to regulate their own behaviors. It helps humans cope, it
helps us maintain alertness, and it helps us establish
relationships with people in our lives.

5. Application in the Workplace
 Because the elderly tend to withdraw from others,
communication may not be as naturally prevalent in
their lives as necessary.
 Solution:
 Morning coffee and social groups
 Current event discussions
 Reading and writing groups
 One to one visits

6. “The form and function of communication vary with the
basic personality types and age characteristics of the
persons involved.”
Different personalities prefer to communicate in different
ways, and therefore, different communication mediums
should be offered. Introverts are imaginative, creative
and, sensitive and tend to express their emotions more
freely. They prefer reading, writing, and listening to others.
Extroverts are more social and prefer the company of
others. They choose objective subjects over abstract
thoughts, and they prefer to talk and be active.

7. Application in the Workplace
 Both groups need and want communication, it’s just a
matter of how.
 Solution:
 Reading groups and Book Clubs
 Offers quiet reading and social discussion
 Story Circle or Reminisce
 each resident has the opportunity to share a story or
memory, and others can simply listen and enjoy

8. The mental facilities of the elderly change as a person
ages, especially those that pertain to communication,
like senses to memory.
Older adults change a lot as they age, both physically and
mentally. They can lose their major senses, like sight,
smell, hearing, and taste, and lose the ability to move
affecting their sense of touch. Their mental abilities
decline as well, from memory recall abilities, to the
retention of new memories. Because of this, they need a
lot of repetition and extra time to absorb and learn new
things.

9. Application in the Workplace
 The loss of senses affects the way things must be presented
to older adults, and the necessity of repetition and extra time
to learn makes repeating instructions often and offering
learning groups important.
 Solution:
 Utilize subtitles on movies shown, use a microphone when
speaking to a group, bring simple activities to those bed bound,
offer large print for books or hymnals
 Offer instruction groups often for things like technology or other
hobbies
 Repeat instructions for activities even if it is offered frequently

10. Key points from Chapter 2
 Family members and friends are an important part of
an older adult’s healthcare, but institutionalized care
can make these relationships difficult.
 Physical changes in vocal patterns and hearing abilities
can add stress to communicating for an elder.

11. Family members and friends are an important part of an
older adult’s healthcare, but institutionalized care can
make these relationships difficult.
Disagreement is common between families of residents
and staff, centering on the way to care for the older adult.
Family members can feel that they can’t communicate
suggestions or complaints without affecting the care given
to their loved ones, and many relatives may feel they are
bothering staff or that they’ll appear stupid when they ask
questions. They often don’t share enough information
about their loved one to allow the staff to care for them the
best way possible.

12. Application in the Workplace
 Though communication with family can be difficult,
including them in activities and offering them support
and education can help.
 Solution:
 Family education events
 Invite family members to everyday activities
 Family/ Caregiver Appreciation events
 Facility Orientation so family feels comfortable in the
environment

13. Physical changes in vocal patterns and hearing abilities
can add stress to communicating for an elder.
Aging not only affects articulation, but phonation, pitch
and timing as well. Weak speech muscles, dentures, and
receding gums can change the way an older person
speaks, causing them to lose acuity of diction and making
them cut out certain sounds all together. Voice tremors
can become more pronounced, stuttering can become an
issue, and the speed and rhythm of speech is affected.
Presbycusis is also a common problem for the aging,
causing a large gap between what is being said and what
is being heard.

14. Application in the Workplace
 Simply because someone is losing the ability to speak
clearly or hear well should not exclude them from
socialization.
 Solution:
 Work with the facility’s speech therapist
 include exercises to strengthen speech muscles in daily
activities
 Writing groups and charades
 Allow emotions and thoughts to be expressed without the need
for verbal communication
 Subtitles on movies
 Whiteboards, pictures, diagrams
 Allows the hard of hearing to participate in programs and
discussions

15. Key points from Chapter 3
 “Perception is basic to interaction.”
 “…a close relationship is crucial to the ‘will to live’.”
 Interviewing and Interacting Emphatically

16. “Perception is basic to
interaction.”
Humans behave based on their perception of themselves
and others. The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale includes 5
ways the elderly view themselves: physical self (physical
attributes), moral-ethical self (developed during earlier
life), personal self (self-esteem, health), family self (once
head of house, now dependent), social self (many
become withdrawn). Elders with a healthy self perception
display healthier behaviors in everyday interactions.

17. Application in the Workplace
 The elderly can struggle with a positive self image as they
age.
 Solution:
 Beauty/Spa/Salon days
 Help elderly women feel positively about their physical
appearance
 Focus on positive elder achievements in movies and programs
 Reminisce
 Remember times when they were in charge of the family
 Social groups/ Interest Groups
 Encourage interactions and friendships through frequent social
interactions

18. “…a close relationship is
crucial to the ‘will to live’.”
Though they tend to withdraw from many social
relationships as they age, the elderly are much happier
with a confidante; they have a strong need to confide
emotions in another individual. Research shows that
friends are more important to psychological well-being
than family.

19. Application in the Workplace
 Though incredibly important to well-being, developing
relationships through new interactions are intimidating
and risky for older adults.
 Solution:
 Social/ Interest groups
 Offer regular social activities as an opportunity for elders to
connect with others with similar interests
 New Resident Night/ “Get to Know Me” events/ “Speed
Friend-ing” (speed dating method to getting to know
someone)
 Encourage new interactions by getting introductions out of
the way

20. Interviewing and Interacting
Emphatically
Interviewing is important in the healthcare industry to get
pertinent information from residents. To do so effectively,
conduct interviews in a quiet and private environment, ask
open-ended questions, encourage more thorough
answers, and use language familiar with the interviewee.
Display empathy– too formal or professional and you
won’t get the thorough information you’re looking for.
Show respect, be reflective and validating, and welcome
feedback.

21. Application in the Workplace
 Interviewing is an important skill to master in the care
planning process.
 Solution:
 Staff role-playing to practice proper interview techniques
 Frequent One-to-One visits prior to interview to make
sure both parties are comfortable with one another before
asking important questions

22. Key points from Chapter 4
 “Communication disorders constitute the nation’s
number one handicapping disability.”

23. “Communication disorders constitute the
nation’s number one handicapping
disability.”
Several age-related conditions can cause or contribute to poor
communication. Natural physiologic changes in hearing, sight,
voice, and speech processing take place as a person gets
older, even if they had no difficulty communicating before.
Among these, declining hearing and sight may be the most
obvious, such as macular degeneration or presbycusis, but
changes in voice (tremor, pitch, rate of speech) and language
impairment caused by cognitive loss, dementia, illness,
disease, or accidents causing brain damage, (such as stroke,
cancer, or degenerative neurological diseases) as well as
conditions like aphasia, agnosia, apraxia or dysarthria may also
cause major difficulties.

24. Application in the Workplace
 Illness and disease can cripple an older person’s ability
to effectively communicate.
 Solution:
 Work with the facility’s speech therapist
 include exercises to strengthen speech muscles in daily
activities
 Writing groups and charades
 Allow emotions and thoughts to be expressed without the
need for verbal communication
 One-to-Ones if group activities are uncomfortable.

25. Key points from Chapter 5
 Communication is a two-way street, and you must be a
good listener and recognize the challenges your
speaker faces.

26. Communication is a two-way street, and you must
be a good listener and recognize the challenges
your speaker faces.
When communicating with the elderly, you must listen, pay attention, maintain
eye contact, and display an active posture. You have to find a reason for
listening (so you naturally show a real interest in what they are saying), show
respect through maintaining personal space, and get on eye level with the
person you’re speaking with. Be aware of your own non-verbal
communication and body language, as well as keeping an eye on theirs. Slow
down your speaking pace, using a nice, relaxed tone, and lower the tone of
your voice, but don’t necessarily raise your volume. Develop an ability to
rephrase, act out, and simplify what you’re trying to express. Make sure you
are in a quiet and comfortable environment. A common age-related barrier is
hearing loss (presbycusis), affecting how well older adults hear what you’re
saying and how you’re saying it, and vision loss (presbyopia), affecting how
they “hear” your nonverbal communication—gestures, facial expressions, and
body language, as well as reading written messages and seeing signs and
symbols. Possibly the most frustrating communication barrier occurs when
the message is heard, understood, and simply ignored. Attitude issues due to
a poor relationship between the two communicators can cause this.

27. Application in the Workplace
 As caregivers, we must do our best to make the older adult
feel comfortable and respected.
 Solution:
 Frequent one-to-one visits
 Group conversation activities, including staff
 Resident council meetings
 Offers a safe, comfortable environment for residents to voice
concerns
 Informal visits
 Residents often see staff only as caregivers, but they want to
see us as friends. Not every interaction needs an official
purpose; sometimes, we can visit as a friend and simply sit and
chat.

28. Conclusion
Though several things can get in the way of healthy,
effective, natural communication, many things can be
done to ensure that residents of a long term care facility
feel at home and get the interaction they need and desire.
I, as a staff member of an Activity or Recreation Therapy
department, can ease the struggles common in
communicating with the elderly and can promote healthy
interactions with the residents I care for through thoughtful
programming and meaningful activities.