COMMUNICATING WITH INDIVIDUALS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - EXAMINATION OF RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES

Meaningful conversation with individuals in the later stages of Alzhei mer's disease (AD) has been considered difficult if not impossible, Li miting communication to simple concrete subjects and closed-ended ques tions is frequently recommended. Thirty-five 30 minute conversations w ith individuals with advanced AD (mean Mini-Mental State Examination [ MMSE] = 10) were transcribed and the interactions examined, No signifi cant differences in length or relevance of response by type of questio n was found indicating that subjects were able to respond to open-ende d questions, Use of broad opening statements or questions, establishin g commonalities, speaking as equals, and sharing of self-facilitated e xpression of feeling; recognizing themes with salience for the individ ual helped to maintain the discussion. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saun ders Company.