By Ashley Krollenbrock
Strategies for Purposeful Engagement for Loved Ones with Dementia instead of constantly saying no. Behavior is communication, so we need to ask ourselves, “What is the person saying?” Dr. Gholizadeh shared steps caregivers can take to provide person-centered care.
If a loved one has dementia, finding meaningful ways to engage with them allows you to maintain a relationship and will help your loved one as their dementia progresses. It can be difficult to know how to engage, because dementia presents differently in everyone. Alzheimer’s is the most well-known form of dementia, but other forms, such as vascular dementia, are also common.
Practical Steps for Caregivers
Dementia is not a typical part of aging. In order for cognitive changes to constitute a dementia diagnosis, it must be severe enough to impact the ability to live independently. Dementia symptoms depend on the part of the brain impacted. For example, frontotemporal dementia causes a lot of behavior and personality changes. Dr. Shadi Gholizadeh, a Memory Care expert shared practical ways that caregivers can keep their loved ones fully engaged and supported. Understanding Dementia People with dementia experience anosognosia, which means they have a lack of insight into their condition. This means that “people with dementia believe that everything is okay and normal. This is different from denial.” To provide effective care, Dr. Gholizadeh says that caregivers “want to enter into that person’s reality.” Correcting someone with dementia can cause frustration. Try out the validation theory technique as a way to convey empathy for your loved one with dementia and improve quality of life for both you and them. It’s also important to realize that someone can be different from day to day, or even hour to hour. Take the time each day to
understand your loved one’s beliefs and mindset, so you can tailor your care. One of Dr. Gholizadeh’s goals as Director of Memory Care is to teach caregivers to try different things, and, if they don’t work, to try again on a different day, at a different time of day, or in different settings. Person-Centered Care Early in our conversation, Dr. Gholizadeh shared a common refrain in dementia care: “If you’ve met one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia.” Everyone experiences dementia differently. Dr. Gholizadeh said that, when it comes to care planning, “it is difficult to have a roadmap, because biology also meets social support, personality, and cultural background.” When someone is diagnosed with dementia, “for some there can be a significant grief cycle, while others can appear unbothered.” This makes it important to focus on personcentered care. When we think about dementia, we often think about symptoms and challenging behaviors, such as wandering. There has been a recent shift to reframing challenging behaviors and using person-centered language. For example, wandering is exploring. “If we reframe our approach to a stance of curiosity, we can support wandering,” and go on walks
Know the Person Style your care to be specific to the person you’re supporting, based on what they would appreciate, and where they are in their dementia journey. For example, you might want to frame a caregiver as a personal assistant or an activity director. “It’s important to know a person’s background, what their values are, and what is important to them.” Ask yourself: What are the routines they’ve always had? If they’ve always cooked, incorporate that into their day, and realize that they may not want someone cooking for them. Adapt activities that are important to the person, instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach. Encourage a Sense of Purpose When you’re supporting someone with dementia, “don’t take away their sense of purpose. Choose activities that are in line with what a person values.” For example, if you play music, play songs that someone used to listen to when they were younger. Dr. Gholizadeh says you want to “optimize the odds that a person will be open to dementia care,” and the best way to do this is to make activities meaningful. For example, “if someone used to be a teacher, frame the care so that the person is in a teacher role because that gives them a sense of purpose.” A former teacher might not want to play a language game, but may be excited to engage with the same activity if it involves teaching someone else.
This article is sponsored by Home Care Assistance, for more info visit > www.homecareassistance.com 26 BOOM!
December 2021
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