Hello and welcome to episode 19 of my series of tiny talks about dementia and cognitive impairment.
After having focused on many different types of dementia,
We now shift our attention to potential interventions,
With a focus on non-pharmacological interventions.
What frequently happens when people are diagnosed with dementia,
Is that they receive one or both of the following to literally take home.
Medications and or a direct or more implicit message that nothing can be done.
With great regard for all the work that is done to develop medications,
We have yet to crack the complexity of our brain,
And thus far available medications only work for some people for a certain period of time,
Whilst having dementia.
The message that nothing can be done or life as you know it is over,
Makes the time around diagnosis doubly devastating.
My suggestion would be to have an initial meeting where the news that a form of dementia has been detected is shared,
And then not inundating the person and family with more information at that point,
But setting a new meeting to share information and focus on the possibilities and capabilities.
There is a range of non-pharmacological interventions available that will assist everyone involved,
By stimulating independence and optimal functioning of the person who has received the diagnosis.
Here are two of my favorite.
These and other non-pharmacological interventions will be shared in future Tiny Talks in more detail.
Firstly,
Montessori for Dementia,
Developed by Dr.
Cameron Camp.
It is all about adapting the physical and social environment so that the person can navigate these by herself.
It focuses on what is possible,
And it steers away from all that has been lost or is no longer possible.
It is not as much about what to do,
But about the how.
The 12 principles of communication and assistance can be applied to any activity really.
It requires time,
Persistence,
Trial and error and patience,
But it will help to maintain or even restore functioning.
Also developed by Dr.
Cameron Camp is spaced retrieval,
Which can be seen as a way for people with dementia to learn new things,
Using certain tricks to access implicit memory,
Which was described in another Tiny Talk.
New procedures will be stored in long-term memory.
If you find it hard to believe that people with dementia can still learn,
How do they learn in no time their place at the dinner table after moving into residential care?
