Answer to a comment.

 I think everyone has a personal language, sometimes it is a family thing and people living with dementia are no different. The added layer is that they may substitute "their" words for the most commonly understood ones. Deciphering this language requires knowing the individual and I don't really understand how anyone could claim to be an "interpreter", this suggests that every person with dementia uses the same methods of communication. Which, of course, they don't. Am I missing the point?

I received the above response to a post on the group. I 100% support people questioning the logic behind developing the ‘Dementia Interpreter pathway’ and felt that this very relevant statement and question should be answered in a little bit more depth then just a small response. I have kept the persons name of this out of respect but want to reassure that I respect the statement and question and unlike a politician, I won’t ignore or not answer.

There are many types of meaning for the word ‘interpreter’ but in essence it means ‘A person that translates an unknown language or communication into another known language or communication.’

Human beings are naturally interpreters in everyday life and we translate every single day within our normal life. We look at a person and without them saying a word we can tell if they are angry, upset, sad, happy, confused and so on. Even with babies we are interpreting behaviours as a form of communication, we know if they are hungry, sick, hot and so on because they communicate this to us but have no comprehension of speech. We have been interpreters all of our lives without realising this an being a dementia interpreter is a commitment to developing this skill for the good of the people we support.

I totally agree that every person is individual and every person will find their own method of communication and this is the same for every disability or impairment. It is fact that blind people will compensate for their disability in different ways when communicating and this is the same with hearing impaired and deaf people. With these disabilities, it is recognised that communication may be different, however with these disabilities there will also be universal similarities that are easily translatable and we can teach new communication to compensate. Makaton, BSL, Communication boards were all invented to so that the person with the disability could translate what we are trying to tell them.

People who have dementia will also find individual ways to communicate, however again there will always be universal similarities within this. As the brain deteriorates with all forms of dementia it will find new ways to communicate and at every stage of dementia the person will find a new method to do this which include writing, body language, verbal changes such as grunting, humming and so on, behaviours both positive and negative and also actions. By recognising these new forms of communication, we can start to decipher and translate what the person is trying to say so that we can start to understand them better. This is a skill that has to be taught and even though this forum is about dementia communication, I feel there should be one for every type of disability.

Another issue is that as each person goes through their personal journey of dementia, they will start to have challenges with speech. In many cases they will develop ‘Aphasia’ and this condition is very common for people who have dementia especially within Vascular and Lewis body dementia but many other dementia’s as well. Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written. This means that the person who has dementia and aphasia will find new ways of communicating to compensate for the deterioration at every stage. This condition, although very prevalent for people with dementia, is rarely taught to care staff, talked about within training but has a huge impact on the person and carer.

We need to teach people how to change our understanding of what people with dementia are trying to say and teach them new ways of talking to the person as well.  We have all recognised and experienced care staff and families raising their voices to make themselves heard because they assume that people who are elderly have hearing impairment. 

A dementia interpreter will be taught about the changes in a person hearing including hypersensitivity to noise and how to lower their voice to actually be heard simply. We will teach interpreters about the impact that the environment has on speech and communication. We will teach people the best methods to communicate with people in situations such as personal care and feeding. We will teach people when to speak and when not to.  We will teach them so much more that they become dementia communication specialists and be proud to call themselves a Dementia Interpreter. 

This course is amazing and just like the Virtual Dementia Tour, we have had the best feedback from professionals that work within dementia care. We take away your ability to speak, hear, see and even move your body and it is so interesting that with this you find new ways to communicate, the scary part is that these communications mirror a person who has dementia.

Your final part said, “Am I missing the point’. I don’t think you are, we are just focused on getting support staff to recognise changes, improve lives and be recognised for the amazing work they do.