Tools for Caregivers

• They feel more empowered
• They have less frustration
• Their symptoms decrease, especially those called" behavior and psychological symptoms of dementia" (BPSD).

For this to be a true partnership, care partners must

• Include the PlwD in decisions whenever possible
• Focus on remaining skills instead of those that are fading

Being Person-Centered

Care partners also need to be person-centered. This video talks about "Alzheimer's" but it speaks for all people with dementia. The Dementia Alliance is a group dedicated to making the U.S. a better place for people to live fully with dementia.

Person-Centered Matters: Making Life Better for Someone Living with Dementia, from The Dementia Alliance.

Care partners who see this journey from their loved one's point of view, not just their own, have better relationships with their loved ones, who in turn are happier and more content, with fewer BPSD. Responsive Care Partnering (RCP) means:

• Taking likes, dislikes and needs into consideration
• Being aware of underlying feelings
• Being alert for triggers, infections, hidden injuries and other discomforting event

Use this form or something similar to set up a baseline of "Who I Am." It can be fun to do with a loved one and can provide information for others so that they can provide person-centered care too.

• Life Story Questionnaire (pdf)

Being Responsive

The "R" in RCP, refers to being responsive to the PlwD's non-verbal communication as well as what they say: It means:

• Expanding communication recognition skills to include non-verbals
• Recognizing acting-out behavior as "stress-related communication," a call for help, and the start of a two-way conversation.

To be able to do these things, the care partner has to:

• Let go of old expectations and accept change (The RCP doesn't have to like it, but they do have to accept it.)
• Accept the PlwD's reality and suspend the need to assert one's own.

Non-Drug Options

These are the tools a care partner uses first with BPSD. The best course may often be a combination of drugs and non-drug options, where the RCP works with the doctors and therapists to find and monitor the best and safest combination. Check them all out and check find the best ones for your and your team.

• Download and use This Life Story Questionnaire for More Person-Centered Dementia Care. (From the Crisis Prevention Institute. (2016))

Being an Improv Actor:

Using improv to improve life with Alzheimers, from TEDMED

Improvisational theater, or improv, is where the drama is improvised on the spot without a script. When a care partner views irrational behaviors and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) as an improv scene instead of "real life," it removes the need exert one's own reality with explaining, defending or arguing. This in turn allows the PlwD to feel validated and supported. Improv and RCP guidelines are very similar:

1. Always say "yes." Accept the scene as given. This isn't true in the real world, but you are "on stage." As long as you can do so safely, agree to suspend your reality and accept theirs wholeheartedly, as any good actor would.
2. Say "Yes, and...." That is, add something and move the action on. Respond with interest--but don't ask questions, which make your partner work too hard. "Wow! That sounds like you had a good time." Then, add something personal, to show that you really are invested. If it is an angry statement or accusation, respond to the feelings and then add an apology. "Oh, dear, no one should have to experience that. I am so sorry."
3. There are no mistakes. Improv actors are flexible. They laugh at their mistakes and move on. Regroup and try again.

Using Improv with Dementia expands the subject further.

• usingimprov.pdf