Nonverbal dementia patient makes breakthrough with unexpected therapy: ‘Such a relief’

Victoria Garcia is in the advanced stages of dementia, and doesn’t speak much at all.

She is being cared for at home in Dapto south of Sydney by her husband Antonio, whom she met when they were teenagers in Spain more than 60 years ago, and her daughter Cecilia Leha.

Leha said her mother now “mumbles, makes no sense, barks, screams (and) makes funny noises just to convey her feelings”.

“It is a very hard journey to see a parent disappear,” Leha told news.com.au.

In the early stages of her dementia journey, Leha said her mother “couldn’t find the words, she would get irritated and frustrated”.

Garcia now “doesn’t like listening to English,” her daughter said.

“Even in her state at the moment, she still doesn’t like it. She will get annoyed and show her frustration.”

Relief for the family came when they connected with a Spanish-speaking support worker, Michaela, through aged care and disability organization Hireup.

Leha said “having Michaela speak Spanish was such a relief,” as English-speaking support workers haven’t been able to connect with her mother the same way.

“Mum somehow can understand that language is her language, there’s something about it that really calms her.”

Garcia said having support in the right language has meant he is able to “see my wife just completely different”.

“I’m very, very happy,” he said.

“I am comfortable now that if anything happens, she’s going to be taken care of.”

Approximately one in four Australians living with dementia come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and second languages can be one of the first skills lost after a diagnosis.

Danijela Hlis has worked as a multicultural and bilingual support worker for approximately 25 years, and said more work is needed to assist people in health settings without English language skills who are “lost in a silent and unfriendly world”.

“The neglect and isolation that happens to some people in care who have reverted to (their) mother tongue is heartbreaking,” Hlis said.

Hlis is an advocate with Dementia Australia, which is throwing its support behind news.com.au and The Australian’s Think Again campaign.

“Our policies and practices in dementia care need to adapt and better support people from diverse backgrounds,” Hlis said.

“We introduced standards which give us human rights to our identity and culture, but when this is not respected, nobody gets punished. There are no fines, there are no consequences.”

All Australian aged care providers will be required to comply with the new Aged Care Act from November 1, which is set to enshrine the rights of those accessing aged care to communicate in their preferred language.

The Act will be enforceable through stricter regulatory oversight and civil penalties of more than $1.5m depending on the severity of the breach.

Hlis said for carers “in today’s technological world, there is so much we can do” to support those who have lost their ability to speak English due to dementia or have never spoken the language.

“Liaise with the family if the person is lucky enough to have somebody in the family who speaks the language,” she said.

“You can find radio and TV programs in the client’s language and put it on for them because often they no longer operate the remote control, find out if there are any bi-cultural clubs or churches nearby, provide occasional culture-appropriate meals.”

Language familiarity is also at the top of many Australians’ support needs outside of residential settings, with research from aged care and disability provider Hireup finding nearly one in five older Australians found it essential for their care at home.

Hireup chief executive Laura O’Reilly said there’s “significant demand” for support workers who speak English and Auslan, as well as foreign languages French, Spanish, Italian, Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Arabic and German.

The disability and aged care sectors are facing “big workforce challenges” around staff shortages, recruitment and retention, O’Reilly said.

“We need lots of people from different language backgrounds, different personality types, different interests, to be able to then match well with the person that they’re caring for.”

“It’s not just about funding a human being and sending them to someone’s home … You need the supply, but you also need the right type of supply.”