Home » News & Events » Honey, Sweetie, Dearie: The Perils of Elderspeak
by Paula Span for the New York Times
A new training program teaches aides to stop baby talk and address older people as adults.
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 coauthor 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 coauthor.
“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,” Dr. 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 so-called 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,” Dr. Williams explained. “You’re telling them how to respond.”
Studies in nursing homes show how commonplace such speech is. When Dr. Williams, Dr. Shaw and their team analyzed video recordings of 80 interactions between staff and residents with dementia, they found that 84 percent had involved some form of elderspeak.
“Most of elderspeak is well intended. People are trying to show they care,” Dr. Williams said. “They don’t realize the negative messages that come through.”
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