Guest: Pamela Atwood-Gerontologist and Executive Director at Colebrook Village at Hebron
Subject: Improv and Communication with Residents with Dementia. Pam says the concept can be applied to how you communicate both with people with dementia and that who do not have dementia. Pam says it is about being in the moment and really listening to the person to whom you are speaking. She says in Improv comedy one of the basic premises is do not argue. Pam says no one ever won an argument with a person whose has dementia. When speaking to a person with dementia it is important to have eye contract with them and enunciate because the person may also have difficulty hearing. Pam says all behavior has meaning.