As our loved one’s tackle the issues associated with old age, it would be appropriate for every thing to start becoming slower, taking more time and effort than before. They are no longer able to keep the pace as when they were younger. Memory, remembering and responding also has a delayed mechanism. You may say something and notice a gap/ delay and a process taking place, before they engage back with you. You may wish to slow your language down and slow down your speech, which would give them time to respond and interact. Alzheimer’s, depending on the level of the development, the words spoken are forgotten. Short term memory is fading fast. So what do you do?
Remember ,depending on your relationship with the person concerned, we remeber things by repetition. Repeated words that they would understand and instruction with a frim but kind loving voice worked for my dad Reg and I was able to reconnect and guide him wherever I needed him to be.
Try that and see how you get on.