The WHY of Reading Aloud to Older Adults and Isolated People

In the almost ten years (!) since I wrote this series of blog posts under the umbrella heading of “reading aloud to the elderly,” there have been many changes in the world. Terminology has changed, so that I’ve found it important to change the word “elderly” to older people, despite the fact that it has been searches for “reading aloud to the elderly” that has brought many people to these posts. The possible ageist implications of “elderly” make it important for me to change this.

Important note: Reading aloud to older people in long-term care or other residential settings is not as easy as walking in, plunking yourself down, and starting to read. There are regulations in place to protect vulnerable older adults that mean there may be background checks or training that you will need to complete to become a regular volunteer. These things are important. Please check with the staff where you would like to volunteer to find out what the requirements are.

This, of course, doesn’t apply to reading aloud to your own family member. I hope it won’t discourage you from doing this oh-so-helpful volunteer work with others, as well.

Imagine yourself in your late 80s or early 90s. Perhaps you’re in a nursing home, or you still live in your own house or apartment, but you’re not able to get out easily, and people don’t come by to visit as often as they used to. You know people are busy. That’s the way of the world these days.

You pick up your favorite book, but it seems heavier than it used to be, and the words are smaller, too. They dance in front of your eyes. You squeeze your eyes shut and then try again, but the words are just too hard to make out. You set the book aside, and look out the window. There’s not much else to do.

Then someone, a kind neighbor, or your grandson, or a good friend comes in. They smile and say, “I saw this story in a magazine and knew that you’d enjoy it.” Instead of just handing it to you, they read it to you. You don’t have to worry about dancing words, and you have the added bonus of their enjoyment of the article as well.

Or you’re in the nursing home, and you waken at night, fearful for some reason. You’re not sure where you are, and nothing looks familiar. You try to get out of bed, but there is a barrier on the side.

Someone comes in — you vaguely remember that he’s a nurse — and sits by your bed, turns on a little light, and starts reading poetry to you. They’re poems you learned as a child at school, and the memory makes you smile. You drift off to sleep as he reads.

Reading aloud can bring so many benefits to older people. It can

• inform
• entertain
• alleviate anxiety
• alleviate boredom
• alleviate a sense of being isolated
• provide a connection with others
• provide a topic of conversation
• enhance visits in which neither person knows how to proceed
• enhance self-worth, when the person realizes someone cares enough to read to them

Some people have the desire to read as they have always done, but the ability to do so has eroded over the years.

• Their vision may not be as acute (and print in books is generally tiny, as is that in magazines).
• They may not have the physical strength to hold a large-print book for long. (Try it some time. They’re heavy!)
• Their cognitive abilities may have dwindled, making understanding the printed word more difficult.
• They may be dealing with dementia, which complicates many aspects of the reading process.

An article in The Lancet, by Carolyn Banks, a strong advocate for reading aloud to the elderly, states that “to most of the people, the act of reading itself had a soothing effect.” She also found that “Being read to … seems to be as welcome as a touch, whether or not the listeners had been readers or the words have literal meaning any longer.”

In my own experience,  I have known the power of reading aloud — even over the phone — to help my mother’s anxiety when she was first in a nursing home. I know that the written word could soothe her, and that she loved to be read to, as well as to read on her own as long as she was able.

I have seen my father’s dwindling ability to read for himself, due partly to hand tremors shaking the magazine so that his eyes could not focus, and partly to diminishing cognitive ability due to dementia. And I learned, after he died, that often at night one of the nurses would read to him to ease the restlessness and anxiety that were a part of his Sundowner’s Syndrome.

I believe very strongly that reading aloud enhances the lives of older adults and those who are isolated, and I hope that this post has helped show you why this is so important.

Do you have experiences of reading to or with elderly people? I hope you’ll share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.