Alzheimer's and Memory Care: Vital Tools Info:
This course will prepare the learner to help families cope with memory loss, as well as manage challenging behaviors. This course also includes advanced skills for managing challenging behaviors.
Learn how to develop a strong, supportive Caregiver-Family team; what can cause the person with dementia to experience behavioral challenges; how to prevent behaviors from occurring; how to respond when a behavior does occur.
Course Content
- Part 1: Challenging behaviors
- A. Preventing challenging behaviors
- 1. Acceptance of feelings
- 2. Communication
- 3. Reassurance
- 4. Acceptance of efforts
- 5. Move your reality to the person with dementia’s reality
- 6. Learn to use distraction
- 7. Be creative
- 8. Keep your sense of humor
- B. What to do when a challenging behavior DOES occur
- 1. Safety always comes first
- 2. Dignity
- 3. Independence
- 4. Individual Rights
- C. Application of these approaches
- Part 2: Advanced Skills for Managing Challenging Behaviors
- A. What you do matters most
- 1. Remain calm
- 2. Don’t be judgmental
- 3. Avoid threatening words or actions
- 4. Focus completely on the person
- 5. Show concern, not anger
- 6. Think about what feelings may lay behind the action
- 7. Be aware of your own responses to aggression
- 8. Take steps to regain control
- B. Assess the problem and start setting priorities
- 1. Safety of other people in the area
- 2. Caregiver safety
- 3. Protect the violent individual
- 4. Protect physical property
- C. Verbal interaction
- 1. Know what to say
- 2. Know how to say it
- D. Non-verbal interaction
- 1. Practice standing very still
- 2. Keep your hands and body in the individual’s view
- 3. Approach the person with your hand out
- 4. Try to stand in a relaxed posture
- 5. Do not approach the person too closely
- 6. Don’t tower over the agitated person
- E. What to do when the crisis is over
- 1. Take some time to calm yourself
- 2. Write up the incident
- 3. Develop a plan to prevent a repeat of the incident
- Part 3: Helping Families Cope
- A. Feelings of the family members
- 1. Grief
- a. Denial
- b. Anger
- c. Bargaining
- d. Depression
- e. Acceptance
- 2. Guilt
- 3. Loss
- B. Helping families cope
- 1. Listen
- 2. Reassure
- 3. Point out similar family situations
- 4. Refer to the appropriate person
- 5. Know your resources
- C. Developing a caregiver-family team
- 1. Give up ownership
- 2. Accept that we share the same goal as the family
- 3. Allow and encourage family member participation
- 4. Accept the family member as part of the “unit of care”
Instructor
Sharon K. Brothers, MSW
Sharon Brothers has been involved in education, writing, management and consulting for a wide range of care-related programs and services. She is currently CEO of the Institute for Professional Care Education (IPCed) which encompasses the brands: aQuire Training Solutions, Medifecta, CarePro and EasyCEU. Sharon received her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of British Columbia in 1980 and has since spent her professional career in the health care industry, developing and operating four assisted living communities for over 18 years. Sharon's leadership of the IPCed team is based on the concept of building a company that prepares the next generation to provide care to seniors, using the very best practices in e-learning and technology.