As your parent's Alzheimer's advances, you'll find it increasingly difficult communicating with them. Patience and understanding are key to continuing to stay connected with your parent in spite of the disease. Here are some tips from senior care specialists who work with people with Alzheimer's to help you talk with your parent.

1. Calmness is key.

People with Alzheimer's become sensitive to the energy of the people around them. Being around a frustrated person will cause them to become agitated and lose focus. If the drive through traffic to see your parent was stressful, take a few minutes to settle down before starting a conversation. If you become frustrated during a conversation with your parent, step away to regain your composure. Restart the talk with your parent calmly so as not to excite or agitate them.

2. Minimize any environmental distractions.

Your parent will also have difficulty focusing on the conversation if the sights and sounds around them are distracting. A television playing too loud in the room next door or people walking back and forth through a visitor's meeting area can keep your parent from focusing on the conversation.

Find a quiet place in which to start the conversation. Move locations should your current area become busy or noisy. If you can't get your parent away from distractions, it's better to postpone the conversation until it calms down.

3. Develop redirection skills to help your parent focus.

There are several techniques that the professionals use to regain a person's attention once they are distracted. Learn to use these with your parent:

• keep eye contact with your parent as you talk with them
• be at eye level with your parent as you speak
• say your parent's name when they appear distracted
• touch your parent's arm or hand lightly to get their attention

A sudden movement or loud noise can take your parent's attention away from the conversation. Acknowledge the interruption and guide your parent back into the conversation:

• "That was certainly a loud noise from the truck outside. We were discussing taking a walk in the courtyard to look at the flowers."

4. Limit any questions to simple choices or "Yes" or "No" Answers.

As the disease progresses, your parent's cognitive abilities begin to deteriorate. They will have difficulty making complicated choices and will need help with decisions. When possible, ask your questions so they can be answered with a "Yes" or "No":

• "Would you like to go to the park for a walk today?"
• "Should I bring you another sweater the next time I visit you?"

When possible, show your parent their options to help them make a choice. For example, when asking them which shirt they would like to wear today, show them the shirts so they can see their choices.

Be aware that your parent will need time to respond to most questions, so give them time to think through the choices and make their decision. If they appear to be struggling for an answer, ask the question again in a slightly different manner or limit the choices. For instance, if you ask your parent "Would you like to wear the blue or green scarf today?" while showing them the scarves and don't get a reply, show one of the scarves and ask "Would you like to wear the blue scarf today?"

For more information on staying connected to a loved one with Alzheimer's, contact a senior care professional from a company like Paramount Parks At Eagle.