What To Do When Nothing Else Works

Hello everyone, You’ve tried distractions, music, walking, going outside, changing caregivers and adjusting schedules. Nothing seems to work with this resident who consistently has challenging behaviors related to dementia. Some caregivers may even tell you that they can’t handle the person anymore. What do you do? The answer may just be—YOU. You may be the […]

Promoting Positive Interactions

Hello everyone, This week, we’d like to discuss how to approach a resident with challenging behaviors in a way that can result in more positive interactions between the caregiver and resident. For example, if a resident scratches, swears or tries to hit a nursing assistant while she is helping the resident with morning care, how […]

Tips for Integrating Person-centered Approaches into Care Plans

Hello everyone, Many of you are working on integrating more person-centered approaches into your care plans, and looking for ways that GNAs and other staff can easily access information about the social histories and preferences of residents, which is critical information when caring for people who have dementia. Those “golden nuggets” of information can help […]

Create a Plan & Evaluate It–The Final Steps of DICE

Hello everyone, This week we’ll finish discussing the four steps of DICE. We hope you had a chance to discuss the “Describe” and “Investigate” parts with your staff, and are finding the process helpful as you work to assess and manage behaviors of your residents with dementia. The “C” in DICE stands for “Create a […]

Pay Attention to Apathy

Hello everyone, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil” is a well-known proverb. In terms of challenging behaviors, the man running down the hall naked or the woman crying loudly at lunch generally get our attention more quickly than the quiet lady in room 101 who likes to keep to herself and “isn’t any trouble.” In […]

Person-centered Care Plans

Hello everyone, We have spent much time discussing care plans, and how to make them person-centered so that they can effectively guide care and help caregivers address challenging behaviors of residents. We know that many of you use electronic care plans that provide “pre-made” interventions to click off. This can be helpful, but be sure […]

Addressing Behavioral Challenges

Hello everyone, The UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program has developed a set videos addressing common behavioral challenges for caregivers. The brief videos first show a “typical” approach by a caregiver, then some discussion by an expert, and then show the “preferred approach”  of the same scenario and a few more tips. The videos are free […]

Promoting Positive Interactions

Hello everyone, This week, we’d like to discuss how to approach a resident with challenging behaviors in a way that can result in more positive interactions between the caregiver and resident. For example, if a resident scratches, swears or tries to hit a nursing assistant while she is helping the resident with morning care, how […]