My wife is now at late stage 6

[SimplySimon]

I am tearing my hair out with worry. I can only understand about 10% of what she says to me, which is upsetting for us both. We still walk 4 to 8 miles a day with our dog but I have to keep an eye open to make sure she is with me not following someone else. She is now less steady on her feet. I shower, dress brush her teeth, feed her, try and get her to drink (with help). I try and keep her awake as much as possible.

If anyone has any ideas for understanding what she is saying I would be eternally grateful.

 

[SeaSwallow]

@SimplySimon I am so sorry to read about your wife’s communication issues, it must be distressing for you both. Unfortunately as dementia progresses speech issues are quite common. Have you tried contacting your GP to arrange some speech therapy?

 

[Sarasa]

Hi @SimplySimon, you sound like you are doing well at keeping your wife active, but I can understand the frustration with not being able to understand each other. Do you think using some simple signs like miming raising a cup to your lips or a thumbs up might help you understand each other? I'm very deaf and my husband and I have devised some signs like that for times I'm not wearing my aids.

 

[SimplySimon]

@SimplySimon I am so sorry to read about your wife’s communication issues, it must be distressing for you both. Unfortunately as dementia progresses speech issues are quite common. Have you tried contacting your GP to arrange some speech therapy?

We have seen the speech therapist who said that there is nothing she can do that would really benefit my wife.

 

[SimplySimon]

Hi @SimplySimon, you sound like you are doing well at keeping your wife active, but I can understand the frustration with not being able to understand each other. Do you think using some simple signs like miming raising a cup to your lips or a thumbs up might help you understand each other? I'm very deaf and my husband and I have devised some signs like that for times I'm not wearing my aids.

Hi, thanks for the reply. My wife gets angry if I treat her any differently to normal. She understands me, but her speech is so affected that, while she thinks she’s talking clearly, the vocals come out incorrectly, in the wrong order and indecipherable. I use thumbs up and mimes a little but they are, more often than not, ignored.