Anyone have experience dealing with dementia?

Question

I have just started studies in aged care and am wanting understanding of activities and reality orientated settings that can be provided for people with this condition. I understand people are often affected with memory loss, mood swings, confusion etc but i am not sure what type of activities and reality orientated settings would be benafical in this situation. Please help!

Answer 1

I’m one of the writers for Gilbert Guide (the foremost resource for everything senior care), and I’ve written quite a bit on Alzheimer’s and appropriate activities. Reality-oriented settings help reinforce the present moment. A large clock, a calendar, a map (with a marking on your location), photos of recent events at which the patient was present, current newspapers and magazines and windows are all staples of a reality-oriented activity room. Windows will help the patient orient to both the weather and time of day. You’ll also want to keep familiar objects, i.e.: scrapbooks, illustrated, large-print dictionaries and flash cards, nearby. Another good idea is to have a chalkboard or dry erase board so that you can change information, such as the date, day of the week or weather, on it daily. You can incorporate reality-orientation into every day interactions by mentioning the date, time, your location and familiar names in every conversation with the patient. Activities that stimulate the five senses, cooking, drawing, word association, naming of objects and informative discussions are all be reality-orienting.

Just recently my colleague, Lara Belonogoff, wrote a blog called Montessori and Dementia: New Ways to Enhance Activity Programs. Here is an excerpt from the post:

“We’ve all seen or heard about lethargic dementia patients who are totally disconnected from themselves and their surroundings. This can happen even if they are not in the advanced stages. Digging into the Montessori treasure chest, activity directors work on creating familiar surroundings for dementia patients. Instead of activities taking place in a disordered room or having patients participating in activity with a shifting focus, the environment becomes nurturing and akin to a cocoon that can protect the individual from too much or the wrong kind of stimulus. As confidence and ability grows, he or she can push along the cocoon sides to create more room. Thus the dementia resident’s world gets bigger and safer to operate in.”

You can view the rest of the blog here:
http://www.gilbertguide.com/blog/2007/01/05/montessori-and-dementia-new-ways-to-enhance-activity-programs/

I hope this information helps,
The Gilbert Guide Team

Answer 2

i'd be thinking what medicine he went on 2-3 years in the past, and if he takes 2 drugs that don't mixture. So whomever is his wellbeing surrogate desires to get along with his wellbeing practitioner and locate out what's happening. If there is no wellbeing surrogate (that he named while he replace into effective) then he would desire to get an examination via the wellbeing practitioner, the wellbeing practitioner be sure he's in dementia and you will petition the courtroom to be his dad or mum and make judgements for him (if he would not have a spouse who can do it without the courtroom petition). Have him get a blood attempt to be sure what he desires and what he desires to maintain him healthful. do no longer over-do the pills yet confirm he gets something like enhance or determine (some style of supplementations/minerals). once you are going to shelter him then probable somebody desires to be interior the domicile in any respect situations so he would not get into something. and you have a relative come over and watch him for a mutually as mutually as you get a wreck. while issues get too plenty you would be able to deliver him (with the approval of his toddlers) to a nursing domicile, one with a dementia forte.

Answer 3

Yes but I don't do that much about it. There are other staff whose job that is. Frequent reorientation to reality is called for. Tell him what he needs to know - who he is, where he is and what day/month/year it is. Keep calendars posted. Include him in social activities with simple games that require object/picture recognition. Bingo. Guessing games. Visiting petting zoo. Ask questions about his family members. There should be photos of family in his room placed where he can see them. I agree that consistency is important but not always possible. Allow the patient to participate in decision-making as much as possible. You should contact a long-term care facility and speak to the folks in the Recreational Activities Dept. or Activities Dept. or whatever they choose to call it. They are the ones who arrange most of these things.

Answer 4

The more familiar, the better. My experience is that people with dementia are often thrown off when their routine is disrupted, but if they are around familiar people and familiar settings, they can cope for much longer.

Answer 5

my cat had the disorder. Not much you can do but keep them in one room untill the recognize it.

Answer 6

yo mama