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If you are a person with dementia (PWD) there are many ways you can communicate with the world besides speaking. Write. Draw. Wave your hands in wild enthusiasm. Smile. Hug.
If you are a family member or paid caregiver, speak (but even if understood) but also write, draw, and signal. It never hurts to communicate through several channels so that your message is heard.
Better communication can make the dementia experience better for both the person with dementia struggling to remember words or speak clearly or follow normal (rapid) conversation and a caregiver/family member struggling to communicate unambiguously with the person with dementia. At times, the spoken word may be the least effective of the ways to communicate.
