Elderspeak Bad For Seniors With Alzheimer's Disease

New York, NY (AHN) - Medical experts have warned caregivers and family members against using elderspeak to seniors they are caring for as it makes recovery for the sick elderly more difficult.

Dr. Becca Levy, associated professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University, explained the problem in a study to be published at the next edition of the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Levy found that using words that belittle elders in a sweet manner, nevertheless produces negative health consequences, especially if the seniors accept the attitude behind the words.

"Those little insults can lead to more negative images of aging... And those who have more negative images of aging have worse functional health over time, including rates of survival," Levy was quoted by the New York Times as saying.

The words that have a negative impact include "sweetie" or "dear," while harmful attitudes include doctors talking to elderly patients about their health like they are speaking to a child, store clerks who assume seniors do not know how to use a computer or using a loud voice on the assumption that the older person has hearing difficulties.

Levy cited a 2002 study on a survey of 660 people aged 50 and above in a small Ohio town which showed that seniors who have positive perceptions about aging live 7.5 years longer on the average.

In her new study, Levy pointed out that seniors exposed to negative images of aging such as words like "forgetful", "feeble" and "shaky" had lower scores on memory and balance tests.

Another study by Kristine Williams, an elderly care nurse and associate professor at the University of Kansas' School of Nursing, found that when nurses used terms like "good girl" or "How are we feeling?" the patient became more aggressive and less cooperative based on videotaped interactions between 20 residents and nursing staff.

Williams said that while many healthcare workers think terms of endearment like "dear" or "sweetie" send the message they care and empathize, they are often unaware it tells their elderly patient they are incompetent.

Williams explained, quoted by the New York Times, "The main task for a person with Alzheimer's is to maintain a sense of self or personhood... If you know you're losing your cognitive abilities and trying to maintain your personhood, and someone talks to you like a baby, it's upsetting to you."