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Senior living: Honey, sweetie, dearie: The perils of elderspeak

People understand almost intuitively what “elderspeak” means. “It’s communication to older adults that sounds like baby talk,” said Clarissa Shaw, a dementia care researcher at the University of Iowa College of Nursing and a co-author of a recent article that helps researchers document its use. “It arises from an ageist assumption of frailty, incompetence, and dependence.” Its elements include inappropriate endearments. “Elderspeak can be controlling, kind of bossy, so to soften that message, there’s ‘honey,’ ‘dearie,’ ‘sweetie,’” said Kristine Williams, a nurse gerontologist at the University of Kansas School of Nursing and another co-author of the article. “We have negative stereotypes of older adults, so we change the way we talk.” Or caregivers may resort to plural pronouns: Are we ready to take our bath? There, the implication “is that the person’s not able to act as an individual,” Williams said. “Hopefully, I’m not taking the bath with you.” Sometimes, elderspeakers employ a louder volume, shorter sentences, or simple words intoned slowly. Or they may adopt an exaggerated, singsong vocal quality more suited to preschoolers, along with words like “potty” or “jammies.” With what are known as tag questions — it’s time for you to eat lunch now, right? — “You’re asking them a question but you’re not letting them respond,” Williams said. “You’re telling them how to respond.” Studies in nursing homes show how commonplace such speech is. When Williams, Shaw, and their team analyzed video recordings of 80 interactions between staff and residents with dementia, they found that 84 percent involved some form of elderspeak.

Senior living: Honey, sweetie, dearie: The perils of elderspeak