2/5 Anne E. 4 years ago on Google
Last
time
the
staff
treated
me
equally
to
other
persons
so
I
tried
this
restaurant
again.
It
hurt
and
deeply
saddened
me
when
the
staff
apparently
thought
they
were
being
"sweet"
by
using
Elderspeak/Babytalk
on
me
in
a
condescending,
patronizing
manner.
We
mature
women
value
Veganism
and
Mother
Earth
and
we
deserve
respect
and
to
eat
in
public
like
anyone
else!!
I
politely
requested
your
waitstaff
X
3
not
to
use
ageist,
sexist
Elderspeak
against
me
(no
honey,
dearie,
sweetie,
cutie).
She
over
and
over
again
laughed
at
me
and
used
Babywords/Elderspeak
like
"loveeeeeellyyyyyy
etc,
as
though
a
54
year
old
woman
is
helpless
at
basic
human
tasks
like
eating.
It
was
very
humiliating
especially
as
I
watched
as
the
young
couple
at
the
table
in
front
of
me
being
served
respectfully
as
human
people
of
value!!
In
spite
of
me
begging
her
not
to
,
your
waitstaff
used
Babytalk
for
Old
People
-
slow,
simple,
loud
sentences
for
the
presumed
dead
or
demented!
UGH!!!
Elderspeak:
Babytalk
Directed
at
Older
Adults
by,
Karen
Austin,
ChangingAging
Contributor
About
a
year
after
I
started
volunteering
at
a
skilled
nursing
home,
I
observed
a
set
of
new
teenaged
volunteers
who
came
to
help
with
a
craft
at
the
monthly
meeting
of
the
Red
Hat
Society.
I
heard
several
of
the
volunteers
speak
slowly
and
loudly,
using
a
sing-song
voice.
In
response,
I
saw
many
of
the
residents
roll
their
eyes.
Unfortunately,
I
had
flashbacks
to
when
I
also
first
started
as
a
volunteer.
I
altered
my
speech
inappropriately
as
well,
hoping
to
be
supportive
but
coming
off
as
patronizing
instead.
I
have
since
learned
to
identify
the
features
of
elderspeak.
More
importantly,
I’ve
learned
to
change
my
attitude.
At
its
core,
elderspeak
communicates
a
condescending
attitude.
And
from
that
attitude
the
person’s
language
might
demonstrate
the
following
features
of
elderspeak:
Speaking
slowly
Speaking
loudly
Using
a
sing-song
voice
Inflecting
statements
to
sound
like
a
question
Using
the
pronouns
“we,”
“us,”
and
“our”
in
place
of
“you.”:
“How
are
we
doing
today?”
Using
pet
names
such
as
“sweetheart,”
“dearie,”
or
“honey”
Shortening
sentences
Simplifying
syntax
(sentence
structure)
Simplifying
vocabulary
Repeating
statements
or
questions
Answering
questions
for
the
older
adult:
“You
would
like
your
lunch
now,
wouldn’t
you?”
In
other
ways
talking
for
the
older
adult:
“You
are
having
a
good
time
on
the
patio
today,
I
see.
And
you
have
your
pink
sweater
on,
which
you
love.
Right?”
Asking
people
questions
that
assume
role
loss,
idleness
and
powerlessness
such
as
“Who
did
you
used
to
be?”
“What
did
you
used
to
do?”
Even
though
this
list
describes
various
ways
in
which
people
sometimes
alter
their
speech
when
talking
to
older
adults,
a
couple
of
misperceptions
generate
the
communication
problem:
Elderspeak
assumes
that
the
older
adult
is
dependent,
frail,
weak,
incompetent,
childlike,
etc.
Elderspeak
assumes
that
the
speaker
has
greater
control,
power,
value,
wisdom,
knowledge,
etc
than
the
older
adult
listening.
Elderspeak
assumes
that
all
older
adults
equally
suffer
from
memory
problems,
hearing
problems,
energy
problems,
etc.
Public
health
experts
have
found
that
when
older
adults
are
exposed
to
the
patronizing
language
of
elderspeak,
their
performance
on
tasks
decreases
and
their
rates
of
depression
increase.
Other
studies
show
that
even
people
with
moderate
to
severe
dementia
can
tell
when
people
are
talking
down
to
them,
and
it
decreases
their
level
of
co-operation.
