Does someone you love have dementia?

Here are some ways you can still connect with them

- MARIA IQBAL

Ngozi Iroanyah's father, Felix Iroanyah, began to speak mostly in his mother language, Igbo, as his Alzheimer's disease progressed. One of the key areas dementia affects is a person's language and communication skills.

One day, Ngozi Iroanyah was visiting her father in his Mississauga home when he looked at her and started speaking in Igbo, the language of his Nigerian homeland.

Ngozi doesn't speak Igbo, but a cousin who was also visiting said that her father, Felix, was addressing her as though she was his mother.

Felix had already been having trouble. Sometimes, he'd forget words. He repeated himself often.

At times, he would start speaking about the news, then trail off talking about something else, Ngozi says.

As his Alzheimer's progressed, Felix started speaking more and more in Igbo, until it became the main language he spoke.

For Ngozi, who is doing a PhD on the experiences of Black seniors with dementia and their caregivers, it was a heartbreaking reminder that his disease was progressing.

"It was very shattering," says the director of health equity and access at the Alzheimer Society of Ontario.

Dementia affects many parts of a person's life, but one of the key areas is language and communication. When a person can't express their needs, it becomes harder for caregivers to know how to help.

But special techniques can bridge those gaps, preserving relationships between people with dementia and their caregivers. They can sometimes help a person with dementia feel more comfortable while reducing stress for those providing care.

Understanding how dementia affects the brain 

Changes to a person's ability to communicate depend on the area of the brain impacted by dementia.

In the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, the brain is like an onion, says one expert.