Why Nonverbal Therapies Matter in Dementia Care
As dementia progresses, words often begin to slip away — not just for those living with the condition, but also for their loved ones trying to connect. Frustration, confusion, and withdrawal can take hold where conversation once flowed. But what if healing and connection could happen without words?
That’s where nonverbal therapies, like sand play therapy, come in.
What Are Nonverbal Therapies?
Nonverbal therapies are approaches that don’t rely on spoken language to facilitate emotional expression, connection, or healing. These include:
Sand play therapy
Art therapy
Music therapy
Movement/dance therapy
Touch- or sensory-based work
Rather than focusing on cognitive or verbal skills, nonverbal therapies engage the senses, emotions, and body — allowing people to express themselves through symbols, sounds, textures, and actions.
Why This Matters in Dementia Care
Dementia often affects the brain’s language centres, making it harder to find the right words, follow conversations, or express feelings clearly. As a result, people with dementia may:
Feel misunderstood or isolated
Experience anxiety or agitation
Withdraw from social interaction
Struggle to communicate basic needs
Nonverbal therapies offer a way around these challenges. They say: “You don’t need to speak to be heard.”
Benefits of Nonverbal Therapies in Dementia
1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Activities like sand play or music soothe the nervous system, regulate mood, and provide a sense of control — especially when words fail.
2. Encourages Emotional Expression
Symbols, movement, or sound can help express grief, confusion, joy, or fear without needing explanation.
3. Stimulates Memory and Imagination
Tactile engagement (like handling sand or objects) can awaken long-term memories and associations, even in later stages of dementia.
4. Fosters Connection
Nonverbal therapies create shared experiences between the person with dementia and their caregiver, family member, or therapist — even when conversation is limited.
5. Honours Personhood
When someone creates something — a sand scene, a gesture, a hum — they are expressing who they are. These therapies help preserve identity and dignity in a way that words alone sometimes cannot.
Why Sand Play Therapy?
In sand play therapy, individuals choose from a collection of small figures, objects, and natural materials to arrange within a sand tray. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. The process is intuitive, calming, and rich with symbolism.
For those with dementia, the sand becomes a space for storytelling, emotion, and memory — a wordless world where feelings can surface safely.
Even when memory fades, the need for connection remains. Nonverbal therapies offer a bridge to that connection — one handful of sand, one brushstroke, one melody at a time.
Final Thoughts
Dementia may change how a person communicates, but it doesn’t erase the need to be seen, felt, and understood. Nonverbal therapies remind us that there’s more than one way to speak — and more than one way to listen.
If you're supporting a loved one with dementia and are curious about nonverbal therapeutic support, consider exploring sand play therapy. Sometimes, the most powerful conversations happen without a single word.