Don't Talk Down to Alzheimer's Patients: Docs

Even after they lose the ability to communicate easily, Alzheimer’s disease patients remain aware of the world around them and know when they're being talked down to, a study shows. Video evidence suggests patients are twice as likely to accept help from caregivers, and to not shut down or become distressed, when addressed not as children but as adults, the Chicago Tribune reports.

A specialist who applauded the study went a bit further, suggesting caregivers not dismiss  patients' efforts to connect. They should “enter into a patient's reality instead of forcing that person into our reality,” he said. “Don't remind them of their disability. Don't tell them they're wrong. And by all means, don't be condescending or critical.” (More Alzheimer's disease stories.)