Imagine a woman in her late 70’s who dons a sweater, another wrap and then a shawl.
“Mom, you can’t wear all that – it’s 80 degrees outside!” her daughter complains as she steps into the room.
“I can do this myself,” the mother protests sternly.
“No you can’t. Now we are going to be late for our doctor’s appointment” the daughter snaps as she struggles with her mother to take off the last garment.
This family’s emotional tangle is unfortunate, and seems to have no end. The mother was diagnosed with dementia years ago, and the symptoms only seem to get worse.
Clear the Fog
And yet there is a way to soften the disagreement, to clear the fog between mother and daughter, and to get to the doctor’s on time.
“One technique that we use is to match the person’s words and emotions,” explains Suzy Carbrey, a licensed speech-language pathologist in the Chicago area. The technique of matching involves visually and verbally mirroring the person’s actions, according to Suzy. This forms a connection, a sympathetic bond between the caregiver and the ailing person.
“It involves connecting with them, teaching the client how to redirect to help them move away from their stressful event,” said Suzy, who has been practicing since 2015. Her experience includes evaluating and treating patients who have experienced a stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s Disease, and dementia.
Mom With a Stroke
Suzy once worked with a family in which the mother had a stroke and experienced aphasia, which is the loss of ability to understand or express speech as caused by brain damage. The mother could say only the first few words of a sentence. She then got a diagnosis of vascular dementia and then suffered a lot of anxiety.
“I was able to teach the family the practice of cueing language, where a family member could help her mother express herself by giving her verbal clues as to what she might want to say.”
Differs from Psychological Counseling
Suzy’s practice differs from the work of a psychologist or mental health therapist in that these professions address anxiety and emotion. The work of a speech-language pathologist (SLP) is in communication as well as cognition, which is the mental process of knowledge and comprehension.
Speech-language pathologists are more commonly known as those who work in a school setting, but a lot of them actually work in a medical setting with adults, in places like a rehabilitation facility or hospital.
Suzy offers individual speech therapy, life enrichment plans, and family coaching. Her specialties include social communication, life skills, Parkinson’s voice, and dementia.
She began her private practice after she saw the need for continuity of care after patients would leave a rehabilitation facility. Among those she treats are those who have received a new diagnosis and are having challenges with following their activities of daily living and regular routines.
Her type of care is paid for by a family’s private funds, and not private insurance or Medicare. Right now she carries out her practice entirely online. And because of its safety advantages, this allows the parties to see each other without being obscured by masks.
Suzy offers a free 15-minute phone consultation. Call her at 708-264-2922, or contact her at info@cognitivecommunicationsolutions.com. Or go to her website at Cognitive Communication Solutions.