Validation Techniques for Dementia Care The Family Guide to Improving Communication By Vicki de Klerk-Rubin, R.N., M.B.A.

Introduction

Part I: Understanding What Happens to the Disoriented Very Old

Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Disorientation: What’s in a Name?
When It Happens in Your Family: Being There for Another and Coping with Your Own Feelings
The Principles of Validation: Tools for Thinking Differently about the Disoriented Very Old
What Do They Mean? Recognizing Needs and Meaning in the Behavior of the Very Old
Resolution: The Tasks of Life’s Final Phase

Part II: How to Communicate with Your Disoriented Relative

Center
Observe
Find the Appropriate Distance
Find Empathy
Use Appropriate Verbal and Nonverbal Techniques
You, Too, Are a Person: Respect Your Own Limits, and Ask for Help

Part III: How Validation Works in Real-Life Family Situations

Preparing Yourself Mentally
Observation
Doris and Her Mother: What to Do When She Repeats the Same Thing Over and Over
Mr. Allen and His Wife, Joan: How to React When She Thinks that It Is 1942
Nancy and Her Mother: Letting Go and Entering Your Mother’s World
Mrs. Prachel and Her Mother: Realizing that Mother Has not Become a Child
Jill and Her Grandmother: Teaching Young People How to Relate with Disoriented
Grandparents
Max and His “Waiting for Johnnie” Mother: Accepting Your Mother, Just as She Is
Emily and Her Husband, Samuel: The Agony of not Being Recognized
Helen and Her Sister, Meryl: How to Handle, "I Want to Go Home Now!"
Sara and Her Mom: Why Lying and Play-Acting Do not Work
Louise and Tom: Losing Your Husband a Little Bit Every Day

Appendix
Family Member Support Group
Family Caregiver Course in Validation
In-Home Counseling: Austrian Model
Summary of Validation for Family Caregivers
Centering Exercises
Validation and Alzheimer’s Disease Information Resources