End of life conversations are essential
for people with dementia.
We all have a tendency to avoid conversations about death or dying, but it’s essential to know what your older adult’s end-of-life wishes are. That’s especially true if they have Alzheimer’s or dementia and won’t be able to communicate when they’re in the later stages of the disease.
Talking about end of life is important because it helps you understand how your older adult would choose to live during their last months, weeks, and days. These can be stressful things to guess at if you’ve never talked about it so experts recommend starting end of life discussions as soon as possible.
Too many people are dying in ways they wouldn’t choose and too many family members feel guilty because they’re unsure about their older adult’s wishes. We found an excellent free guide from The Conversation Project that helps you start these conversations in the earlier stages of dementia.
It also includes tips on how to make decisions on someone’s behalf if their dementia is advanced and they can no longer express their own thoughts.
