Book: Later Stages Symptoms

6. Eating and drinking

The person should be supported to eat and drink for as long as they show an interest and can do so safely (even if they just take a mouthful or a sip). There are ways to help make this easier for the person. For example:

• Choosing a plate that is a different colour to the food (so they can see it more clearly)

• Giving the person enough time

• Sharing a meal, spending time eating and drinking with the person can help. Mimicking can happen, during a shared meal, I take a sip and the person takes a sip.

• Putting the drink in their hand if they are struggling to see it

• Changing the consistency of food and drinks (for example serving it in liquid or puree form). Only do this following advice from a professional such as a Dietitian or Speech And Language Therapist (SALT).

Eating and drinking can bring the person pleasure. It’s important to support people with dementia to eat and drink things that they enjoy. Many people’s tastes will change as they get older and as dementia progresses (for example, they might start to prefer sweet food).

Think about the person’s oral health as this will have an impact on their ability to eat and communicate (as well as helping with their general health and well-being). If the person has poor oral health it may lead to pain, which could mean they don’t want to eat or they behave in ways that are out of character.

Have you any experience of finding good solutions to eating and drinking issues?

Feel free to share these on our Forum: Unit 2 Discussion.