Although it may be hard to imagine, people with dementia sometimes forget how to get out of a bed and reminders can be helpful. Coaching a person so he/she can transfer with minimal assistance is helpful if the person still has adequate physical ability to rise safely. They also need language comprehension to understand your instructions. And the bed should not be too high, too low, or too soft for the safest and easiest transfers.

Before attempting to help a person out of bed, give them a good reason to get up – a warm, gentle voice can really do wonders. Once you have the person's buy-in, give step-by-step verbal, visual, and, if needed, tactile instructions. As you can see, I have one hand on Bobby's lower back and the other on her shoulder. For an actual demo of this coaching transfer, see our 4 step transfer video in our Living Room section. Although the video shows a person being coached to get up from a chair, the technique is basically the same for getting out of bed, with the exception, of course, that the person pushes off from the mattress, not the side arms of the chair.

If the person needs more than minimal assistance, see our section on Transferring in Special Concerns. There you'll find helpful tips and informative videos from health care professionals.