STORY A，Practitioner & resident, Level 1 Practitioner Chenyu Wu
长辈是一位来自南京、温柔雅致的长辈，92岁，热爱戏曲，平日说话轻声温婉。确诊阿尔茨海默病后，她逐渐封闭自我，沉浸在自己的世界里，极少与他人主动交流。她心地善良，时常关心我的身体与工作状态，喂我吃东西。她有明显的短时记忆遗忘，常常忘记刚发生的事，也会忘记用餐时间、忘记自己是否已经吃过饭。她的社交圈十分简单，仅与邻居詹奶奶亲近，几乎不与其他长辈往来。相处中我坚持运用认可疗法，以温柔、尊重的眼神耐心陪伴、共情接纳，不纠正、不否定她的认知缺失。长久温柔相处下，她逐渐对我产生信任，会轻轻伸手抚上我的脸颊，这是她独有的温柔表达方式。挎包是时她极具安全感的象征物品，是她的精神寄托。每当找不到挎包时，她便会慌张烦躁、手足无措甚至落泪。我始终理解并认可她的情绪需求，耐心陪伴安抚、协助找寻物品，守护她的安全感。每位失智长辈都是独一无二的个体，我将持续以尊重与共情陪伴她、守护她。
Level 1 Validation Practitioner Chenyu Wu
The older woman is 92 years old and from Nanjing. She is gentle and elegant, loves Chinese opera, and usually speaks in a soft and warm manner. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she gradually became more withdrawn, increasingly immersed in her own world and rarely initiating communication with others.
She is kind-hearted and often shows concern for my health and how I am doing at work, sometimes even offering me food. She has significant short-term memory loss and frequently forgets what has just happened, when it is time to eat, or whether she has already eaten. Her social circle is very small. She is close to her neighbor, Grandma Zhan, but has little interaction with other older people.
In our time together, I consistently use Validation. I stay patiently alongside her, with a gentle and respectful presence, offering empathy and acceptance without correcting or contradicting her when her perception differs from mine.
Over time, through this gentle way of being together, she gradually developed trust in me. Sometimes she softly reaches out and touches my cheek. This is her own unique and tender way of expressing herself.
Her handbag is especially important to her and provides a strong sense of security. It is something she relies on emotionally. Whenever she cannot find it, she becomes anxious and distressed, sometimes becoming overwhelmed and even crying. I acknowledge her emotions and her need for security, stay patiently with her, offer reassurance, and help her look for the bag.
Every older person living with dementia is a unique individual. I will continue to accompany her with respect and empathy and help preserve her sense of security.