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Alzheimers disease can especially cause a person to act in different
or unpredictable ways, including:
Echolalia or repeating a word over and over
Repeating questions or activities over and over again
Exhibiting verbal or physical aggressive behaviors.
Thinking suspicious thoughts (paranoid thinking)
Having anxious or agitated feelings
Difficulty recognizing familiar people, places or things
The causes of poor behavior have been broken down into three
basic areas:
1.Those related to the person’s physical and emotional health
such as medications,
impaired vision or hearing, acute or chronic illness, dehydration,
constipation,
depression, fatigue, and physical discomfort like pain.
2.Those related to the environment like an environment that is too
large, has too much
clutter, has excessive sensory stimulation, has no orientation or
information clues like signs, has poor or no sensory stimulation,
has no structure or is ever changing or new to the resident.
3.Those related to the task like the task is too complicated,
it has too many steps, it is
not modified for the individual’s impairments or it is unfamiliar.
Whatever the cause, be sure to identify the specific challenge
and consider possible solutions. The following may give you some
ideas for behavior control:
1.First, identify and examine the behavior. What was the undesirable
behavior? Was
it harmful to the individual or others? What happened before the
behavior occurred?
Did something trigger the behavior? Try to answer the following
questions: What, where, why, when and how?
2.Next, explore potential solutions. Is there something the person
needs or wants?
Can you change the surroundings? Is the area noisy, crowded, well
lighted? Are
you responding in a calm, supportive way?
3.And finally, try different responses in the future. Did your
response help? Do you
need to explore other potential causes and solutions? If so, what
can you do differently?
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR ALZHEIMERS BEHAVIORS
Try to identify the immediate cause
Focus on feelings, not facts. Look for feelings behind the words
Stay calm and be positive
Limit distractions
Try a relaxing activity, modify the environment
Shift the focus to another activity when they show aggression
Respond with a brief explanation
Show photos & other reminders to stimulate memory
Avoid questions, offer suggestions
Do not take their behavior personally
Provide an answer for repetitive questions
Accept their behavior and find ways to work with it
Don’t argue, acknowledge their opinions
Find outlets for the person’s energy i.e. walks, games, etc
Acknowledge requests and respond to them
Establish routines
Plan schedules
Limit choices
Allow more time for tasks
Maintain a safe environment
Keep things simple
Share your experiences with others
Consult a physican to identify any causes related to medications or illness
There are nutritional factors which should be taken into account
when caring for an Alzheimers patient. The following are suggestions
by the Alzheimers Association which help a patient stay healthy.
Serve several small meals rather than three large ones.
Serve finger foods or serve the meal in the form of a sandwich.
Don’t serve steaming or extremely hot foods or liquids.
Limit highly salted foods or sweets if the person has a chronic
health problem.
Fill in gaps between regular meals with healthy snacks.
If the person has trouble swallowing, food intake will be affected.
The Alzheimers Assoc.
recommends the following.
Blending the food or alternating small bites of food with a drink.
Substitute fruit juice, gelatin, foods cooked with water, sherbet,
fruit or soup for solids.
Serve mashed potatoes rather than fried potatoes.
Offer bite-size pieces of cooked meat, turkey or chicken salads
instead of sliced meat
READY TO SCHEDULE?
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