Des familles et des personnes malades : dits et non-dits dans les familles accompagnant un patient âgé dépendant psychique

When a grandparent or a great-grandparent suffers from Alzheimer disease or a related disorder, very often parents keep grandchildren in the background to protect them or because they think they are too young. Because of this overprotection, the children refrain from talking about it or asking any questions. Such silence and things unsaid can cause suffering and greatly inhibit communication with the demented parent and within the family. This article presents some aspects of a research conducted with families caring for a cognitively impaired parent. This journal has already published an article on this research conducted by the Fondation nationale de gérontologie.