Ways to Help Eldely Remember Things

With age, sometimes remembering becomes more difficult. Short-term memory loss is particularly common among the elderly. As a friend, family member or health care provider, it's your job to help the person remember and learn. Helping an elderly person remember sometimes requires extra patience. Always act respectfully. Remember, the person is elderly and impaired.

Comfortable Environment

• As adults, elderly people do not want to be treated like children or like second-class citizens. Create a learning environment that is comfortable for the elderly person to learn new things and to remember lost memories. Treat the elderly person with respect and acceptance at all times by listening when the person speaks and using good manners like saying "Please" and "Thank You." Give the elderly person control and a say in learning plans or treatment plans, which will make learning and remembering easier. Encourage the person to remain socially active because that can help memory issues.

Reinforce Lessons

• Because elderly people sometimes suffer from short-term memory loss, using visual cues can help. Sometime the person needs a hint or something familiar to spark memory or to learn something new. To help a person with memory loss learn, repeat the message several times and use techniques that reach all of the person's senses. For example, give an auditory, written and visual lesson of the same information several times.

Link Information

• People remember by linking words and information together. This is also known as "chunking." To do this successfully, you must know the person's background and experience and link new information to previous knowledge. Make sure to use vocabulary with which the person is familiar and associates with learning. For example, an elderly retired English professor would learn most effectively when introduced to new topics, or forgotten memories with proper college-level English.

Physical Help

• With age, the body's systems sometimes begin to lose proper function. For instance, hearing-and-eye problems are not uncommon with senior citizens. Making adjustments is necessary to help the person remember. When giving prompts and cues for memory, speak clearly and loudly if you know the person has a hearing problem. Try to help the person get hearing aids or treatment for hearing loss. Do not speak rapidly because sometimes elderly people have problems with comprehension. For vision problems, make sure anything you write is large and clear.