The disease process, most people with dementia will demonstrate behavioral and psychological symptoms, such as agitation, wandering, aggression

At some point in the disease process, most people with dementia will demonstrate behavioral and psychological symptoms, such as agitation, wandering, aggression etc.  These behaviors are not just random meaningless behaviors, they relate to unmet needs in the person’s condition and/or their specific environment.  It is important to see challenging behaviors as symptoms instead of problems.  The challenges are determining what these unmet needs are for the individual with dementia and finding strategies to prevent the demonstrated behavior.

Read the case scenario below and follow the directions below.

Case Scenario 

‘Stop it! Stop it! This isn’t right! Leave me alone!’ Screams Betty Hopkins as the nursing assistant tries to prepare her for night time.  ‘But you can’t go to bed in your good shirt, Betty.  Let’s get you ready for bed’.  Betty attempts to slap the nursing assistant as she tries to pull her arm through her shirt.  ‘Leave me alone’, Betty screams.  The nursing assistant calls for help from one of her colleagues.  The colleague tells Betty that her behavior is inappropriate and restrains Betty by holding her arms while the other nursing assistant tries to remove Betty’s clothes.  Betty continues to scream for help while trying to kick and scratch the nursing assistants.

Describe how different approaches can prevent the triggering of the responsive behaviours that can result from unmet needs. Provide 2-3 examples here. Support your approach with evidenced-based literature (and include in-text citations with corresponding references).