The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)

by Nancy L. Mace

THE SIX R’S OF BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT Restrict. The first thing we often try is to get the person to stop whatever he is doing. This is especially important when the person might harm himself or someone else. But trying to make the person stop may upset him more. Reassess. Ask yourself these questions: Might a physical illness or drug reaction be causing the behavioral symptom? Might the person be having difficulty seeing or hearing? Is something upsetting him? Could the annoying person or object be removed? Might a different approach upset the person who has dementia less? Reconsider. Ask yourself how things must seem from the point of view of the person who has dementia. Many of the symptoms of dementia, such as memory impairment, the inability to comprehend or express language, the inability to do things that one has done since childhood, and an unawareness of the extent of impairment can lead directly or indirectly to behavioral difficulties. When you try to bathe or dress someone who does not understand that he needs help, he may become upset. He might feel that his privacy is being invaded or that someone is trying to harm him rather than to help him. The resulting anxiety is understandable when he can’t make sense of things that are going on. Rechannel. Look for a way that the behavior can continue in a safe and nondestructive way. The behavior may be important to the person in some way that we cannot understand. One man who had been a mechanic continued to take things...