Volunteer Work with Alzheimer's Patients

The natural annihilation of Alzheimer's disease is a unified malady that may be determined by an appraisal of cognitive reduction and elderly dementia. The illness generally starts and steadily advances, and impacts reminiscence, peaks of consideration, judgment, view, speech, vibrant talents, and deeply disturbing actions. In its subsequent phases, the illness will interfere increasingly more with everyday careers and may hinder control. In end results, as its influences advance to the brain's tissues, signs will worsen further.

Volunteer work is important, not only to the patient, but also to the family and the community in general. Patients look forward to the time that they spend with volunteers, since they bring beauty and happiness into their lives**. Patients are able to talk about things that they were never able to talk with un-willing family members, and it helps them spiritually and psychologically.** Patient family members also benefit from volunteer work. It gives them the opportunity to relax, knowing that their loved ones are being cared for by passionate and dedicated people. The greatest impact of volunteer work is on the community. Volunteer work helps educate others about the disease and the challenges Alzheimer's patients go through on a daily basis. This is important, because it touches the human heart and allows communities to understand and learn to be compassionate as many do not understand what Alzheimer's disease is nor are they even aware of it or how they can help.

Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities

Assisting with Daily Activities

Another aspect of volunteering is the chance to give direct support to dementia patients and help them with activities that they would usually enjoy doing. This might mean helping a patient to perform daily grooming routines, helping with games or crafts, or going for walks with patients who are able. Much time will usually be your best asset as a volunteer, as you may frequently be asked to take your time, hold hands, have a conversation, or share stories. Each act touches the lives of your clients, and can lift spirits incredibly high. Keep in mind that although you are there to help others and provide strength, your volunteering experience can also provide significant emotional satisfaction and a sense of achievement, and the chance to get to know and learn from people who are very wise, often in unconventional ways.

Providing Emotional Support

To provide emotional support for patients, you must have an affinity for this kind of work. The contact and activities that exist between volunteers and patients are especially important for the development of the Alzheimer's patients. The volunteers make sure the patients do not feel alone, are regularly listened to and comforted, no matter what the circumstances may be. This kind of attention helps to create a warm environment for the patients and also creates a firm support system for their families.

Engaging in Recreational Activities

There are many ways to engage in recreational activities with Alzheimer's patients that are beneficial to both the patient and the volunteer, including playing cards, board games, and bingo, reading books, doing art projects, taking walks, listening to music, cooking, working in the garden, and more. Volunteers can engage patients in just about any type of activity so long as it is safe and does not exacerbate the symptoms of the disease.

Assisting with Mealtime

Some residents in an Alzheimer's facility can no longer eat on their own. If a family member or another caregiver doesn't come at lunchtime to help, then the staff members have to find someone else in the community to volunteer. Find a mentor among facility staff members to show you how to properly feed a dementia patient. Sit and talk with the patients while feeding them. A lot of the time they are confused and do not know what to do while they are being fed. Do not talk to them as if they were a child, because this will upset the patient and aggravate the condition. Many Alzheimer's patients can put food into their mouths, but they cannot chew--which is a major threat because it can cause them to choke. If the patient cannot chew, then you have to chew the food for him or her. This helps the patient realize that the food is safe enough to eat, and it helps them swallow the food normally.

Effective Communication Strategies

Non-Verbal Communication Techniques

This can be difficult, but it is not impossible. It involves using different strategies to involve the patient, such as using their name often, engaging in eye contact, touching them lightly, using positive facial expressions and body language, effective vocal tone and pitch, being patient and not interrupting them. If they are religious or spiritual, using touch can be very reassuring, such as a hug or holding their hand. Touch is an immense factor of comfort in the communication process for Alzheimer's, but it needs to be used carefully, as explained to me in my training session, to respect the patient and not to make them feel uncomfortable in any way.

Furthermore, make sure for clarity you remove all background noise, such as a TV or radio, that could make it harder again for the patient to concentrate on what you are saying. On top of this, as I learned in my training, different methods such as drawing, writing, and in particular using flashcards are particularly beneficial to covey messages effectively without solely relying on verbal information. Flashcards are especially useful as both the patient and the carer can point to the card to acknowledge what they want to say, and furthermore, for the carer to further emphasise their points, they can use exaggerated facial expressions and body language to emphasise what they want to get across in the hope that the patient will understand them.

Active Listening and Empathy

Active listening is an essential skill when working with Alzheimer's patients. Active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and retaining what is being said to the volunteer. This requires practice, concentration, and the ability to switch off the internal dialog, judgments, and biases of the volunteer. Additionally, when practicing empathy as a volunteer, it is important to avoid making quick judgments. It can be easy to forget that the patient has been a self-sufficient, productive human being in their past. Volunteers should try to appreciate what the person is saying and feeling by considering their body language, tone, preferences, and mood. Active listening is valuable in showing genuine empathy because it gives individuals a chance to really be heard, rather than just spoken to. Understanding what it means to be listened to in such a way can greatly enhance the connection between the volunteer and the patient.

Using Visual Aids and Reminders

A number of different kinds of communication aids can be useful in helping care for someone with Alzheimer's and other communication difficulties. Providing visual prompts can often help a person understand the situation they are in and get across the different things going on around them. For example, clocks and calendars can be used to reinforce dates and times. Simple signs or labels on doors or cupboards can help someone find their way around and understand where things are kept and what they are for.

Pictures and words can be used to help identify people and objects and to help in telling a story or asking questions. Newspapers and magazines, pictures, books, and television can be used to prompt memories and start a conversation. Some people may be helped to communicate through using memory books or memory boxes where information such as photographs or possessions can be kept and used for reminiscence. These are also helpful in prompting activities and food and drink preferences. For many people, communication aids can be an essential link to the outside world and can provide huge, yet often unrealised, beneficial impact on their wellbeing.

Bibliography

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Han, Sae Hwang, et al. "Volunteering, polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive functioning among older adults." Social Science & Medicine 253 (2020): 112970. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953620301891)
Ebbitt, Brenda, Theressa Burns, and Renee Christensen. "Work therapy: Intervention for community-based Alzheimer's patients." American Journal of Alzheimer's Care and Related Disorders & Research 4.5 (1989): 7-15. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/153331758900400506)