This four-and-a-half minute video by Teepa Snow (see below) demonstrates 10 easy steps to calm and comfort a distressed person living with dementia.
Truth be told, these practical actions would likely help calm and comfort anyone in distress:
- position yourself on the person’s dominant side
- useHand Under Hand™ (HUH™ video demo with Teepa here)
- pump hand you are holding (like a heartbeat)
- copy their breathing with emphasis on the exhale
- repeat issue using their words
- acknowledge & validate their emotions (more on validation here)
- mirror their emotional state
- calm & slow your own voice
- slow your breathing, continue emphasis on exhale (more on breathing here)
- check / confirm issue (e.g. you’re angry?)
These are also great:
Teepa Snow demos 10 ways to calm a crisis with a person living with Alzheimer’s / dementia
10 things to remember when you interact with people who forget