1. Meaningful Day and Dealing With Problem Behaviors
Module 17
Meaningful Day and Dealing With Problem Behaviors
Geriatric Aide Curriculum
NC Division of Health Service Regulation
For use in conjunction with: The Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. (2003). Accepting the Challenge: Providing the best care for people with dementia, [Videotape].

2. Meaningful Day and Dealing With Problem Behaviors Objectives
Describe how to help create a meaningful day for a person who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Identify problem behaviors.
Recognize which behaviors to address and which ones to let go.

3. Creating Meaningful Days With Persons With Dementia
To create meaningful days, you must know who that person has been and what that person valued.

4. Find Out Who The Person Is…
Preferred name
Introvert or extrovert
A planner or a doer
A follower or a leader
A “detail” or a “big picture” person
Work history – favorite and most disliked jobs or parts of jobs

5. Find Out Who The Person Is… (continued)
Family relationships and history – feelings about various family members
Social history – memberships and relationships to friends and groups
Leisure background – favorite activities and beliefs about fun, games and free time

6. Find Out Who The Person Is… (continued)
Previous daily routines and schedules
Personal care habits and preferences
Religious and spiritual needs and beliefs
Values and interests
Favorite topics, food, places

7. Find Out Who The Person Is… (continued)
Favorite music and songs – dislike of music or songs
Hot buttons and stressors
Behavior under stress
What things help with stress
Handedness

8. Find Out Who The Person Is… (continued)
Level of cognitive impairment
Types of help that are useful

9. Problem-Solving For Problem Behaviors
To discover if a behavior is a problem behavior that needs to be fixed, ask yourself:
“Does the behavior put someone at risk?”

10. Problem-Solving For Problem Behaviors (continued)
If the answer is “No, the behavior does not put someone at risk,” then it’s not really a problem behavior. It may be irritating or embarrassing for the caregiver, but it is really a “so what” behavior.
Learn to let it go, leave it alone, don’t sweat the small stuff.

11. Problem-Solving For Problem Behaviors (continued)
If the answer is “Yes, the behavior puts someone at risk,” then it’s a problem behavior.
It’s time to problem-solve!

12. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
First, describe the behavior in detail.
Where does it happen?
When does it happen?
Who is involved?
How does it start? Stop?
What is said and done?
What makes it worse or better?

13. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
After describing the behavior, answer these questions:
Could the level of dementia explain some of this behavior?
Could the way the person was approached or helped have some impact?

14. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
After describing the behavior, answer these questions (continued):
Does the person have other medical or psychiatric conditions that might be active?
Could personal history (work, leisure, family, personality, routines) play a role?

15. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
After describing the behavior, answer these questions (continued):
Could the environment or cues in it be causing some of the trouble?
Could the time of day or personal habits be a factor?

16. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
After answering the questions, brainstorm solutions.
Brainstorming means to think up all the ideas you can to solve the problem, even those ideas that may not be very successful. Remember, you’re not taking action yet, you’re still thinking.

17. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
Once you’ve thought of as many ideas about how to address the problem behavior, it’s time to come up with a plan of action.

18. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
To come up with a plan of action:
Decide what to do
Decide who will do it
Decide when to start it and when to look again
Set a goal
Do it

19. Problem-Solving for Problem Behaviors (continued)
Once you’ve tried the plan, ask yourself, “Did it work?”.
If it did work, celebrate!
If it didn’t work, rethink and problem-solve again. Don’t give up on problem-solving for problem behaviors.

20. The End