Teaching Dementia Care: Skill and Understanding

by Mace, Nancy L.

• ISBN13: 9780801880438
• ISBN10: 0801880432
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-01
• Publisher: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV PRESS

Summary

Dementia afflicts millions of Americans and deeply affects the lives of their loved ones. Good care has been proven to have a significant effect on the quality of life of a person with dementia. To ensure good care, staff members of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and adult day-care centers, and providers of home care must be thoroughly and continually trained by qualified and well-prepared professionals. Nancy L. Mace, coauthor of The 36-Hour Day, has created the ultimate teachers' guide for dementia care training. Rich with information and with tools for effective communication between teacher and student, the text supplies instructors with in-depth lessons and includes relevant charts, tables, and handouts, which may be customized to suit specific programs. Good training is the foundation for a confident and competent caregiver and supports the dignity and well-being of persons with dementia and their families. With her unmistakable compassion, humor, and wisdom, Mace has provided a much-needed guidebook for better teaching and better care.

Author Biography

Nancy L. Mace, M.A., now retired, was a consultant to and a member of the board of directors of the Alzheimer's Association and an assistant in psychiatry and coordinator of the T. Rowe and Eleanor Price Teaching Service of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
PART ONE GETTING STARTED
Laying the Groundwork for Change	3	(18)
Teaching Techniques That Work	21	(18)
Teaching Adult Students	39	(294)
PART TWO LESSONS
Helping the Person by Understanding the Problem	47	(19)
The Voice of the Person with Dementia	48	(1)
Establishing Student Goals	49	(1)
Recognizing Terms and Differences	50	(6)
Information about Diagnosis and Evaluation	56	(10)
Helping the Person by Understanding How the Brain Affects Behavior	66	(48)
Understanding the Role of Brain Damage	68	(7)
Recognizing the Capacities That People with Dementia Commonly Retain	75	(1)
The Interplay of Personality, Life Experience, and Cognitive Losses	76	(4)
Abilities Commonly Impaired in Dementia	80	(34)
Facilitating Function by Treating Excess Disability	114	(37)
The Importance of Treating Excess Disability	116	(5)
Illness, Pain, Reactions to Medication, Sensory Deficits, and Dizziness	121	(7)
Factors That Influence Excess Disability in People with Dementia	128	(2)
Information about Excess Disability and Delirium	130	(21)
Facilitating Function by Treating Stress	151	(32)
The Role of Stress in Behavioral Symptoms	154	(6)
Alleviating Symptoms of Stress	160	(4)
Responding to a Catastrophic Reaction	164	(3)
The Need for Stimulation and the Difference between Stress and Stimulation	167	(16)
Applying Skills in Activities of Daily Living	183	(27)
The Importance of Individualized Care and the Application of New Knowledge	185	(4)
Implementing What You Have Learned about Activities of Daily Living	189	(2)
Using Individualized, Social, and Emotional Contexts of Care	191	(4)
Suggested Interventions for Specific Activities of Daily Living	195	(15)
Helping the Person by Enriching Communication	210	(18)
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication	212	(6)
Avoiding Patronizing Behavior	218	(2)
Information about Assessing Communication	220	(8)
Helping the Person by Sustaining Relationships	228	(25)
Family Relationships	230	(7)
Friendships with Staff Members	237	(3)
Friendships between People with Dementia	240	(13)
Caring for the Person by Meeting Emotional Needs	253	(12)
Emotional Needs	255	(3)
The Changing Profiles as Impairment Increases	258	(7)
Helping the Person by Addressing Mood	265	(24)
Helping People Who Are Depressed	266	(5)
Information about Depression and Other Psychiatric Symptoms	271	(18)
Restoring Enjoyment through Activities	289	(20)
Making Your Program Work Better	291	(9)
Activities and Ideas	300	(9)
Thinking Through Challenging Behaviors	309	(17)
Facts about Behavioral Symptoms in Dementia	312	(2)
Strategies for Intervention	314	(4)
Addressing Wandering	318	(2)
Information about Sexual Behaviors	320	(3)
Behavioral Symptoms in the Acute Care Setting	323	(3)
A Plan and a Celebration	326	(7)
Making a Plan	327	(2)
Celebrating New Skills	329	(4)
PART THREE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS
Evaluating Your Training	333	(4)
Making the Best Use of Charting and Information-Based Systems	337	(17)
Using Assessment Instruments	354	(15)
References and Resources	369	(2)
Index	371