Avoid asking too many open-ended questions about the past, as it could be stressful for a person with dementia if they can't remember the answer. While it might seem polite to ask somebody about their day, it's better to focus on what's happening in the present.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
Keeping an active social life, regular exercise, and continuing activities the person enjoys, or finding new ones, can help to reduce behaviours that are out of character. Read more about activities for dementia. Other things that can help include: providing reassurance.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
“Open-ended questions are great when you want to have a conversation and connect,” says Drew. “People living with Alzheimer's may enjoy talking about their families, friends, and the things they like in life, whether it's a hobby, an old TV show, or their favorite foods.”
Lying to dementia patients can be the right way to care for them because: They don't remember the truth and repeatedly telling them or insisting on facts will only cause them distress and pain, especially when it comes to something emotional.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
The clock-drawing test is a quick way to screen for early dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. It involves drawing a clock on a piece of paper with numbers, clock hands, and a specific time. The inability to do so is a strong indication of mental decline.
You have trouble following a conversation. You find it hard to make decisions, finish a task or follow instructions. You start to have trouble finding your way around places you know well. You begin to have poor judgment.
Use calming phrases such as: "You're safe here;" "I'm sorry that you are upset;" and "I will stay until you feel better." Let the person know you are there. Involve the person in activities. Try using art, music or other activities to help engage the person and divert attention away from the anxiety.
Behavioral disturbances in dementia are often globally described as “agitation” including verbal and physical aggression, wandering, and hoarding.
Some of the more common triggers for dementia like a change in environment, having personal space invaded, or being emotionally overwhelmed may be easier to handle if you mentally practice your response before you react.
SPECAL sense begins with three Golden Rules: Don't ask direct questions. Listen to the expert – the person with dementia – and learn from them. Don't contradict.
Individuals with dementia often have anxiety which can make them feel nervous, worried, or cause them to not want to be left alone or out of sight of their caregivers.
The five-minute cognitive test (FCT) was designed to capture deficits in five domains of cognitive abilities, including episodic memory, language fluency, time orientation, visuospatial function, and executive function.
Solomon, PhD developed a brief neurocognitive screening battery to identify AD patients. The 7 Minute Screen™ consists of four individual tests (orientation, memory, clock drawing, verbal fluency). The screen can be rapidly administered and scored and therefore may be appropriate for use in the primary care setting.
Many people affected by dementia are concerned that they may inherit or pass on dementia. The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.
A list of ten unrelated words are orally presented one by one, and subjects are instructed to recall as many items as possible immediately after their presentation (immediate free recall, the traditional span task) and after a predetermined time, in general 5 to 10 minutes (delayed free recall).
The Four Word Short-Term Memory Test presents subjects with four words at the rate of one word per second and subjects are then asked to recall the words following a distractor interval of counting backwards by threes for 5, 15 or 30 s.
The WMT is a computerized test of the ability to learn a list of 20 word pairs. It takes about 7 min of the tester's time and about 20 min of the patient's time. The examinee is instructed to watch and remember a list of 20 semantically related word pairs (e.g., dog/cat, man/woman, pig/bacon, fish/fin).
For people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, watching TV can help keep their brain active, which can stimulate positive memories, improve mood, and even increase socialization.
Avoid asking too many open-ended questions about the past, as it could be stressful for a person with dementia if they can't remember the answer. While it might seem polite to ask somebody about their day, it's better to focus on what's happening in the present.
In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events.