How can relatives organise everyday life with a person affected by dementia?

Every person is unique. Everyone has different hobbies, their own preferences and interests. This also applies to people with dementia. Therefore, there can be no universal rule on how to organise your own everyday life with dementia or how relatives should organise everyday life together with people affected. However, there are some useful tips. Many organisations also offer courses or training in this area.

Ask your general practitioner or a care service for appropriate services in your area.

Conversation tips

  • Make sure the surroundings are quiet. Avoid multiple sources of noise, such as a TV or radio playing when you are having a conversation.
  • Adapt to the pace of the person you are talking to. Allow enough time for answers.
  • Repeat sentences if necessary.
  • Avoid arguments or confrontations. Do not interrupt the person you are talking to.
  • Ask clear, specific questions. Avoid starting questions with "why".
  • Remember that a person with dementia is an adult: avoid "baby talk".
  • If the person with dementia argues with you or reproaches you, try not to take it personally.
  • Take people with dementia seriously.
  • If the situation is tense, leave the room for a few minutes and then come back.

Tips on body language

  • Maintain eye contact during the conversation. Speak to the person at eye level and avoid towering over the person. This works if, for example, you are both sitting or both standing.
  • Listen and show interest.
  • A friendly face or a smile can help create a positive mood.
  • Not everyone likes to be touched. If you know that the person with dementia likes to be touched: take their hand or touch their shoulder, for example. Touching the face or thigh may be perceived as too intimate.

Tips for organising everyday life with moderate to severe impairment

Try to find out, together with the person affected by dementia, what brings them joy. This can vary from day to day. It is helpful if you know what the person with dementia used to enjoy doing. If you don't know, ask someone else, for example a family member. The list below includes examples of such activities:

  • Sewing
  • Knitting
  • Writing
  • Drawing
  • Solving crossword puzzles
  • Reading
  • Watching television

Allow the person with dementia as much time as they need for the activity in question. Just make sure that they get up from time to time to stretch their legs. It is also important they do not forget to drink and go to the toilet.

Click on the following link to find out more about ways to organise everyday life. The resource also provides examples of daily routines, everyday life, household chores and memory work:

Shaping everyday life - Website Alzheimer Austria

If your relative or loved one with dementia tends to be unable to find their way home

Some people with dementia have a strong urge to move around and sometimes even leave their homes. It can therefore be useful to be prepared for such an eventuality.

There are 2 forms from the police with tips on how to manage these situations:

Emergency card for family caregivers

On the emergency card, you can specify a person you trust who can be contacted quickly in an emergency if you are suddenly unavailable due to an unforeseeable event such as illness or accident.

The emergency card is the size of a bank card. You can order it from the Interessensgemeinschaft pflegender Angehöriger via email: office@ig-pflege.at

Last update: June 30, 2025