Do's and Dont's

From The Best Friends” Approach to Alzheimer’s Care
by Virginia Bell, M.S.W. and David Troxel, M.P.H.

Do:

• Listen carefully
• Help a person fill in the blanks
• Read facial expressions and body language and try to respond appropriately
• Give compliments
• Ask opinions
• Ask open-ended questions
• Give generous praise
• Use common sense
• Enjoy the person in every way possible
• Take the blame and apologize
• Be sincere
• Use the person’s life story regularly
• Use positive language
• Rely on humor
• Keep language simple

Don't:

• Argue, confront, correct
• Give orders, make demands
• Talk down to a person
• Talk about a person in his or her presence as if the person were not there
• Ask questions that require remembering too many facts
• Try to explain or prepare too far in advance
• Take negative comments personally
• Give too many choices
• Take anything for granted

For more information about the Best Friends approach to Alzheimer's care, contact the Alliance office!