OSOT - Facilitating Positive Behaviours and Activity Engagement for People Living With Dementia
Presenter(s)
Rachel Wiley, MS, OTR/L, CDP
Many persons with dementia express responsive behaviours, which “refer to behaviours exhibited by a person with dementia as a way of responding to something negative, frustrating or confusing in their environment” (Alzheimer Society of Canada, 2017) and these behaviours have a negative impact on the person with dementia and their care partners (Marx et al., 2019). The Triadic Model (Gitlin & Corcoran, 2005) highlights that people with dementia may be triggered by their care partner’s communication and/or management style, their environment, or what is happening within themselves and that this may result in behaviours such as resistance to care, aggression, or wandering. Using a holistic and habilitative approach, occupational therapists can collaborate with care partners to implement strategies to minimize responsive behaviours. Occupational therapists can also provide education to care partners on how to identify appropriate activities and how to modify them based on the context and the person with dementia’s abilities, and this increased engagement in meaningful activities can reduce responsive behaviours (Marx et al., 2019).
This workshop will provide occupational therapists with a greater understanding of why people living with dementia experience responsive behaviours and how to facilitate positive behaviours and activity engagement. Several models for understanding the causes and triggers of responsive behaviours will be explored. Participants will learn how to develop and tailor strategies needed to minimize responsive behaviours based on the unique needs of the individual, care partner, and environment. This workshop will focus on responsive behaviours identified by the audience. This may include topics such as resisting care or help, wandering, pacing, aggression, repeating, waking at night, etc.
Strategies to promote activity engagement through task and environmental adaptations and communication strategies will be explored. Common barriers to strategy implementation will also be discussed. Learners will explore specific responsive behaviours in detail in small group breakout rooms to identify client-centered triggers and strategies. Small group work will be followed by a large group discussion in which participants will have the opportunity to share triggers and strategies identified and discuss ways to adapt strategies for various practice settings.