CDP Communication Strategies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a person with dementia asks repeatedly for a deceased spouse, the best response is to:
- Correct them firmly each time to avoid reinforcing false beliefs
- Enter their reality and respond with empathy without repeatedly announcing the death (Correct answer)
- Distract them with a task immediately without addressing the question
- Document the behavior and ignore it to avoid encouraging repetition
Correct answer: Enter their reality and respond with empathy without repeatedly announcing the death
Entering the person's reality and responding with empathy prevents repeated emotional trauma from re-learning a loss each time.
Question 2: Which principle of validation therapy involves acknowledging the emotional content behind a confused statement rather than correcting the facts?
- Remotivation
- Empathic reflection (Correct answer)
- Redirection
- Behavioral anchoring
Correct answer: Empathic reflection
Empathic reflection validates the feeling behind the words, reducing distress without arguing over factual accuracy.
Question 3: A dementia patient is agitated and using aggressive language. The FIRST communication step should be:
- Speak loudly to get their attention over the agitation
- Lower your own voice, use a calm tone, and ensure personal safety distance (Correct answer)
- Leave the room and return when they have calmed on their own
- Call for security assistance before attempting communication
Correct answer: Lower your own voice, use a calm tone, and ensure personal safety distance
A calm, low voice reduces emotional escalation and models the de-escalated tone you want the person to mirror.
Question 4: Touch as a communication tool with dementia patients should be used:
- Freely, since all dementia patients respond positively to touch
- Only by family members, never by professional caregivers
- After obtaining implied or explicit consent and observing the person's response (Correct answer)
- Only when verbal communication has completely failed
Correct answer: After obtaining implied or explicit consent and observing the person's response
Consent and ongoing observation of the person's response ensure touch is therapeutic rather than distressing.
Question 5: Which environmental modification most directly supports successful verbal communication with a person who has dementia?
- Keeping the television on for background familiarity
- Reducing background noise and ensuring adequate lighting (Correct answer)
- Using a busy communal area to provide stimulation
- Dimming lights to create a calming atmosphere
Correct answer: Reducing background noise and ensuring adequate lighting
Reducing noise and improving lighting removes sensory competition that impairs the person's ability to process verbal input.
Question 6: When using written cues to supplement verbal communication for a person with mid-stage dementia, the notes should be:
- Detailed and comprehensive to cover all possibilities
- Short, large-print, positively worded single instructions (Correct answer)
- Typed in standard font at normal print size
- Written in cursive for a personal, familiar look
Correct answer: Short, large-print, positively worded single instructions
Short, large-print, positive single instructions are easiest to decode when reading comprehension is declining.
Question 7: The 'FOCUSED' communication program for dementia care stands for Face-to-face, Orient, Continue the topic, Unstick communication blocks, Structure with yes/no, Exchange conversation, and:
- Document responses
- Direct eye contact sustained (Correct answer)
- Direct with visuals
- Direct activities
Correct answer: Direct eye contact sustained
The D in FOCUSED stands for 'Direct eye contact sustained,' reinforcing attentive, face-level engagement throughout the interaction.
CDP Communication Strategies 2
When a person with dementia asks repeatedly for a deceased spouse, the best response is to: