Any communication between people has two main, strongly related purposes:

• the sharing of meaning
• the nurturing of relationships between people

Communication is a basic human need and making it as effective as possible protects basic human rights. Communication enables us to share our personality and to have our identity confirmed. Communication can be seen as a process, as well as an act, or series of acts.

Briefly, seen as a process, it consists of:

• the people communicating
• the message (what the people are ‘trying to say’)
• the medium (the physical presence and actions of the people; the use of sounds or images; electronic aids)
• the channel (broadly, using the five senses)
• a code (e.g. a language, or some other system of communication)
• noise (factors tending to blur the message, for example, misunderstandings arising from ‘misreading’ body language, as well as background environmental distracters like loud music)
• feedback (things that help the message sender to be able to judge whether they have been understood)
• context (who is communicating with whom, when, where and with what expectations). 

People living with dementia may:

• be confused
• experience a sense of loss of purpose and identity
• feel uncomfortable exploring their developing difficulties
• be anxious about their condition and its possible progress

As a result, they may:

• have difficulty following rapid or complex speech
• attempt to communicate with broken speech patterns that, can express underlying concerns
• have difficulty forming or vocalising ideas or understanding those of others
• be very sensitive to ‘noise’, be it environmental or situational
• find some attempts to communicate with them unhelpful – for example, feeling like they are being talked down to or distracted by gestures.

We believe that people with dementia should be:

• agentive, i.e. able to be in control of their own lives and circumstances as far as possible
• offered support in continuing to ‘own’ a clear idea of themselves as individuals
• helped to feel less anxious
• aided in maintaining a sense of self and of personal and social identity
• assisted in their attempts to communicate well with others
• helped to retain and regain abilities
• treated in such a way that their dignity and freedom of choice are supported

Dementia frequently affect a person’s ability to communicate effectively. People living with dementia are, nevertheless, individuals with communicative needs. Addressing these needs in a clear manner, fully acknowledging individual ‘personhood’, is a key element in any positive encounter.

Overall, a person-centred approach to communication between carers and those living with dementia should have the effect of starting a cycle of improved communication. With this, recognising a person’s individual’s desires, both increases the individual’s sense of competence and improves the quality of social interaction for both parties. These principles are at the heart of DemTalk.