With a person-centered therapy approach for those with dementia, prolonged independence is possible.
For people with dementia, their loss of independence and their increasing reliance on care and support from others can make them feel helpless, stressed, and valueless. Those with dementia are just like the rest of us – we all feel joy, confidence, and accomplishment when we do things for ourselves.
Our mission – prolong independence and maximize well-being.
The right approach to care and therapy for dementia can slow the progression of the disease, alleviate symptoms, and prolong independence. At Therapy Management, Inc. our team members are trained to understand, nurture, and empower people with dementia, so we can take every measure to help them retain function and continue to find meaning in life. Our therapists employ a specialized dementia care program that uniquely combines the following three approaches:
1. Allen Cognitive Levels: We facilitate each person’s best abilities.
When a person has dementia, it’s human nature to focus on what that person can no longer do. But our therapists take a more positive approach. We use the Allen Cognitive Disabilities Model to determine what each person can still do, and then we develop “just-right challenges” that facilitate each person’s best ability to function and feel self-reliant. Rather than rehabilitative therapy, we empower patients/residents through habilitative activities that prevent further decline, preserve what capacities are left, and preserve each person’s independence for as long as possible.
2. Best Friends Approach: Therapy works best when it’s meaningful.
How do we employ “person-centered care” when a person’s memories and the attributes that comprised her identity are fading? We learn all that we can about her life, so we can help her remember! And then we infuse her own life experience into her therapy, so therapy feels familiar and meaningful. Our therapy team members are trained to go beyond the typical role of clinicians and become “best friends” to those with dementia. This means we learn each person’s unique Life Story, so our treatment plan can mesh with that person’s history, experiences, favorite activities, and natural rhythms of daily living. Our therapists then design activities that are meaningful to the person and can help her feel happiness, independence, accomplishment, and connectedness with others. Moreover, therapy is conducted in a nurturing way during times of the day that are most beneficial to each person (and not just for the convenience of the clinicians).
3. Teepa Snow’s Approach: We continually adapt our communication as the brain changes.
As the disease progresses, dementia can make it increasingly difficult for people to express themselves and understand what others are trying to communicate. Through training in Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Brain Change, our team members learn to understand how dementia impacts a person’s brain over time, and how to communicate with a person as primary verbal communication and interaction abilities change. We use adaptive therapeutic approaches, modified environmental supports, and altered task expectations to match with the retained abilities of the person with dementia. Along the dementia continuum, our care and communication is ever-adapting, so patients always feel secure, safe, and encouraged to do what they are still capable of doing – in their own way and in their own time.
If you would like to learn more about our therapy approach for those with dementia, we are here. On staff, we have a Best Friends Master Trainer and a certified Teepa Snow PAC Independent Trainer, and they are available to do educational sessions at skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and memory care facilities, and senior communities. Contact us at 248-349-9595 or email carrie@therapy-management.com.
