Comforting the Confused

How to comfort? How to help? are questions often asked by persons providing care to individuals suffering from dementia. According to Hoffman and Platt - a warm smile, gentle touch, and soothing voice tone can help toward improving quality of life. The authors believe caregivers should be encouraged to emphasize non-verbal aspects of their communication throughout their daily care of the demented. Hoffman and Platt provide research-based, practical guidelines for communicating with dementia patients and offer strategies for responding to depression, aggression, wandering, and other behavioral problems. New to the Second edition are chapters addressing: Feeding strategies; Falls and Use of Mechanical Restraints; Special Care Units; and Dying and Grieving. Each chapter features learning objectives, a pretest, a posttest, and learning exercises. The book is a valuable tool for inservice training and a practical resource for professionals.