Certain strategies need to be employed to effectively communicate with folks who have Huntington's disease.
People with Huntington's disease often have a hard time communicating with others, especially as they progress through the illness. Both speech and cognitive problems that can occur include:
- articulation
- strained voice
- impaired respiration
- understanding information
- response time
- impaired reading and writing skills
- diminished short-term memory skills
- attention/concentration skills
Strategies to improve communications include:
- speaking slowly
- using yes/no questions
- simplifying your message
- reducing distractions
- employing communication aids (speech therapy)
- having a predictable environment
- allowing sufficient time for the communication
Strategies for more advanced cases include:
- recognizing and using facial expressions and gestures as tools
- using intuition and perception instead of just concrete communication
- getting to know the person's abilities, habits, and idiosyncracies
- relaying information without always expecting a response (the person may well perceive you, but cannot respond.)
For more information on Huntington's disease, please refer to:Huntington's and Home Safety, Huntington's Disease Overview, Huntington's Behavioral Issues, and Huntington's and Safe Bedding.
For related neurological information, check out the Neurological ARTICLE INDEX and Blog.
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The copyright of the article Huntington's and Communicating in Neurological Illness is owned by Jennifer Gerics. Permission to republish Huntington's and Communicating must be granted by the author in writing.
