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Honey, sweetie, dearie: The perils of elderspeak

Williams, Shaw, and their colleagues reviewed 80 recorded videos of communication exchanges involving nursing home personnel and individuals living with dementia, discovering that elderspeak was present in 84% of these instances.
Elderspeak arises from ageist assumptions of frailty, incompetence, and dependence, and often uses terms like 'honey,' 'dearie,' and 'sweetie' to soften messages, which can sound like baby talk to older adults.
A training program called CHAT reduced elderspeak from nearly 35% to about 20% of interaction time and was linked to lower use of antipsychotic drugs in these nursing homes, with effects now studied nationwide in about 200 facilities.
Care professionals caution addressing elders respectfully by using formal titles until otherwise requested, as elderspeak can feel controlling or patronizing despite good intentions and may cause discomfort or antagonism.
Individuals like 65-year-old retired writer Lisa Greim have contested elderspeak, and experts suggest that addressing preferences can avoid conflict since some terms of endearment might not imply intellectual underestimation.

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Honey, sweetie, dearie: The perils of elderspeak

By Paula Span, KFF Health News A prime example of elderspeak: Cindy Smith was visiting her father in his assisted living apartment in Roseville, California. An aide who was trying to induce him to do something — Smith no longer remembers exactly what — said, “Let me help you, sweetheart.” Related Articles These researchers are trying to diagnose CTE during life. They’re recruiting former football players First at-…

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