1. Create a calm environment. The tone of your voice and your facial expressions are important in speech. Try not to overreact to a situation. Take things slowly. Smile.
2. Do not assume the person cannot understand what is being said. NEVER talk about the person as though the person is not present.
3. Avoid quizzing the person on names and dates. Not knowing an answer is embarrassing. If you want to ask questions, try to know the answers beforehand, and help the person to answer. Often, when given a clue, the confused person can answer.
4. Use gestures when trying to get your messages across. Try using more than one sense to communicate, such as touching as well as talking.
5. Try to appeal to the sense of humor, but never laugh at person.
6. Be reassuring. If you do not know the answer just say “I am sure everything is alright.”
7. Praise actions whenever possible, but do not patronize. Compliment a new hairdo or the outfit worn that day.
8. If the person starts or continues to walk while you are talking to them, keep moving along in front of him or her. Do not try to stop the person. If you need to change directions, ease into the move by using a distraction.
9. Do not argue. Insisting something is true to someone who believes facts to the contrary can only make the situation worse. Example: The person insists her husband will be joining her for dinner and you know her husband has died. Reminding her that her husband has died may be upsetting and can reactivate feelings as if his death just happened. The best approach is to distract the person gently to a different subject. A temporary change of subject will often solve the problem and divert the attention to a different thought altogether.
10. Simplify tasks into steps. Be patient and use short sentences . Do not overwhelm the person with a string of instructions. Example: Instead of saying, “Put on your shoes and socks,” say, “Put on your socks.” When that is accomplished, then say, “Put on your shoes.”
11. Avoid situations that cause frustration and anger. Try to anticipate problems to prevent them from happening. This will get easier as you get to know the confused person better.
12. Encourage participation in failure-free activities.
Always treat the confused person as an adult, and always be respectful and patient.