One anchor maxim in neurolinguistics goes something like this: No words, no thoughts; know words, know thoughts. The implication is intriguing: The stronger your vocabulary, the more likely the depth and breadth of your thinking.
These ideas may also apply to the ways in which you express ideas and ideals about older adults. Today I include an aggregation of words and phrases you might use to increase your old age vocabulary. (My thanks to the marketing departments of several local Midwestern care facilities, who have taken to heart the need for a more bountiful store of verbal and written expressions!)
Breathing new life into senior living. Putting us closer to new ideas. Trust, innovation, caring and connection never get old. What works and what doesn’t. Complementary needs. Potential caregivers. Optimal matches. Trading in chores for…. Standby assistance. More progressive approaches. Tireless focus. Personalized space. Safe havens. Relationship-based care. Useful and productive lives. A sense of purpose. Those who choose to spend the remainder of their lives with us. An extension of your family. A gentle daily structure. Finding happiness and meaning. Continually embracing current research. Respect for individual differences. Not a substitute for your family. Guidance. Tips. Apathy. Reputable. Care advisors. Secrets. Confident and informed. Knowing our residents beyond their diagnoses.
You can see in this gathering of useful verbiage how some health care enterprises are searching for ways to communicate more fully what “caring” encompasses. What it means to assure older adults and their caregivers that they are known and loved. What thoughts lie at the perhaps-spiritual core of these caregiving facilities.
As you speak and write about older adults, see how you can increase the quality of the words you use, so that the depth of your thinking will increase.
So that your skills at caregiving will grow!
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