One of the big stressors for mid-stage Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers is the inability to do daily routines such as getting dressed. Anybody who has been a daily caregiver for a person with Alzheimer’s knows how the frustration results in a host of difficult behaviors. A therapist can help.
We have written before about how Medicare will pay for therapy even when the patient cannot “improve.” A recent article in the New York Times reports how therapy can help people with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, with daily functioning even though their medical condition will not improve. This is a therapy that Medicare can pay for.
Programs in Great Britain and the United States have shown that patients can return to, daily tasks through skilled occupational therapy. The goal of these programs is not to try to delay changes in the brain but delay loss of function. The programs result in improved quality of life for the patients and less stress and difficult behaviors for caregivers to deal with.
In Great Britain Dr. Linda Clare uses methods used to help people with brain injuries. His team has helped patients learn how to use a cell phone, how to warm a prepared lunch, or how to keep track of daily tasks. For example they have the person make a short list of steps and practice a task. They put colored markers on microwaves or washing machines.
In the US Dr. Laura Gitlin’s Tailored Activity Program (T.A.P.) trains occupational therapists how to provide the program in the person’s home.
The use of occupational therapy for patients with cognitive impairment may not be new but its awareness is increasing and techniques are being refined and improved.
The New York Times article is: Dementia May Never Improve, but Many Patients Still Can Learn. You can find it at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/health/dementia-rehabilitation.html
For further reading on the TAP program see https://learn.nursing.jhu.edu/face-to-face/institutes/NewWay-TAP/index.html
And here is another article on how therapy can help with difficult behaviors, “Occupational Therapy Interventions for People With Alzheimer’s Disease” See https://ajot.aota.org/article.aspx?articleid=2665966
