I was visiting a friend of mine in a nursing home and began to notice how many speak to older people differently and with different tones. I learned that there is even a term referred to as Elderspeak. It reminds me a lot baby talk.Listen for the over simple grammar and vocabulary, as well as overly intimate terms of endearment. There was a recent research study that showed that such a way of speaking to our elders may not only be exasperating and insulting, but can even negatively affect their health.
So how is elderspeak defined? In general it is a style which is assumed to accommodate the perceived communication needs of elderly people. It involves speaking slowly, restrictions on vocabulary, simplified syntax, as well how words are stressed or accentuated. You see it in the movies all the time.
The underlying assumption is that the elderly cannot understand what is being said, and therefore need some "help". From the older adults point of view it is patronizing and disrespectful.
Researchers have also defined elderspeak as overly caring, controlling and infantilizing communication.
This study found that elderly adults who were subjected to negative stereotypes commonly associated with ageing, re-enforced by condescending phrases and attitudes, performed significantly worse when tested for memory and balance.
In one town in Ohio, the study team found that those who were above 50 and held positive perceptions about ageing went on to live 7.5 years longer than their peers who did not. This was after other factors that affected health were already accounted for.
Those attitudes were affected even by seemingly harmless words and phrases and had a greater impact than factors like smoking and exercise.
A different study looked at the effect of elderspeak on Alzheimer's patients with dementia. The interaction between staff and 20 residents of a nursing home, aged between 69 and 97 years and having moderate levels of dementia, were videotaped.
The results showed that the patients were more likely to resist care after they were spoken to using elderspeak, instead of the usual adult-to-adult form of communication. When resisting care, they would act out by saying no or crying out, turning away, grabbing onto someone or something, pulling their limbs tightly toward the body, or hitting and kicking.
This suggests that these people are unable to communicate that their needs aren't being met. And because they can't communicate verbally, they may respond in these other nonverbal ways, but the need in question could just be the wish to be treated as an adult who is worthy of respect.
And, perhaps the biggest users of elderspeak are the healthcare workers, including doctors and nursing staff.
The problem with elderspeak, is that it hurts the self-esteem of those to whom it is used on. Worse, it can literally grind them down and send them on a self-fueling downward spiral toward ill health and even premature death. That, after all, is what we get when we communicate to people that they are weak, a liability, incompetent or even useless. It’s called a self fulfilling prophesy!
This is a symptom of general negative stereotypes of the elderly. It is another example of how people are treated differently based on their age in healthcare, in the workforce and in everyday life. It is also a clear connection between how the elderly are treated and their health and how well they function.
Now that I am aware of what used to be called ageism. I see examples of it daily in mean images, birthdays, jokes, the workplace, languages and general attitudes directed at older people.
With the ageing of the Baby Boomers, the need to avoid elderspeak will become more significant. In the US, the 85-and-above age group is the fastest-growing one. I believe that the people who use words like "dear", "good girl" and "sweetie" on the elderly, or speak very slowly and in overly simplified language to them, express the things they are afraid of in themselves in our youth oriented American culture.
