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A
Activities: Any event that occurs throughout
the day from brushing your teeth to walking to eating to leisure
pursuits.
Activities of daily living (ADL's): self-care
tasks that we normally do during the day including feeding, bathing,
dressing, grooming and toileting.
Agitation: behavior demonstrating extreme
emotional disturbance and irritability.
Aggression: behavior that is hostile or
destructive.
Agnosia: loss of ability to recognize
objects, persons, sounds, shapes, smells when basic sensory
abilities are intact
Alzheimer's Disease: Alzheimer's disease (AD)
is the most common form of dementia, a disease characterized by loss
of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities
of daily living such as remembering, reasoning, and planning.
Alzheimer's Disease Education & Referral Center (ADEAR):
A service of the National Institute on Aging, this website and call
center provides information, materials and support for professional
and family caregiver's who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease and
dementia. Contact info: www.niapublications.org/adear/ or
800-438-4380.
Alois Alzheimer: Dr. Alzheimer was a German
psychiatrist most famous for identifying Alzheimer's Disease in
1907.
Alzheimer's Association: a voluntary
organization formed in 1980 in the United States, which specializes
in research for the diagnosis, cure, treatment, and prevention of
Alzheimer's Disease.
Alzheimers Disease International: Based in
London, England, ADI ( Alzheimer Disease International), was founded
in 1984 to help to fight Alzheimer disease.
Amygdala: the part of the brain that is
thought to control motivation, emotion and memories of recent
events.
Amyloid beta protein: a type of protein that
is found to accumulate in the brains of persons with Alzheimer's
disease.
Antecedent: the event that proceeds a
behavior.
Aphasia: loss or impairment of the ability to
produce or comprehend language
Apraxia: loss of ability to execute or carry
out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and
physical ability
Aromatherapy: therapeutic use of essential
oils to promote physical and psychological well-being.
Art therapy: Also called creative arts
therapy or expressive arts therapy, art therapy encourages people to
express and understand emotions through artistic expression and the
creative process.
Automatic speech: consists of words that are
spoken during communication without prior thinking.
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B
Behavior: reactions of a person in response to
stimulation, usually from the environment.
Behavior modification: The use of basic learning
techniques, such as conditioning or reinforcement, to change a
person's behavior.
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C
Caregiver: a person who handles the some or all of
the daily needs of another person
Catastrophic reaction: an extreme reaction to a
situation which the person may perceive as hostile or threatening
Circadian rhythm: A daily rhythmic activity cycle,
based on 24-hour intervals, that is internal to each person.
Cohorting: A group of people, with similar needs,
who are placed together for care.
Consequences: Something that follows from or is a
result of an action or behavior.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD): is a rapidly progressing disease,
also called "mad cow disease", because it was first noted in
livestock. Although uncommon, CJD does have an irreversible dementia
component.
Cuing: A signal, such as a reminder or prompt, used
to assist a person with dementia
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D
Delirium: Delirium is a group of symptoms, caused by
a disturbance in the normal functioning of the brain that shows
reduced awareness of and responsiveness to the environment. Delirium
is common in the hospitalized elderly and must be differentiated
from dementia or depression.
Dementia: Acquired syndrome involving: Multiple
cognitive deficits, memory impairment and one or more of the
following: aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia.
In addition, there is a noted disturbance in executive functioning
and significant impairment in social or occupational functioning.
These deficits do not occur exclusively during the course of a
delirium. Source: DSM IV
Dementia care mapping DCM: is an observational tool
that was developed by the Bradford Dementia Group to evaluate the
quality of care for people with dementia.
Dementia triad: The three areas where dementia
symptoms are noted: cognition, function, and mood/behavior.
Depression: The condition of feeling sad or
despondent.
Differential Diagnosis: Distinguishing between diseases
of similar character by comparing their signs and symptoms. Useful
for caregivers to know the exact type of dementia in order to assist
with "care".
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E
Early onset dementia: Also called "younger onset
dementia", Early onset dementia is a term that describes a number of
diseases impacting memory and thinking in people under the age of
65.
Early stage dementia: The early, often undetectable
stage of dementia, in which very minor changes occur in a person's
abilities or behavior. Some of the symptoms may include short term
memory loss, confusion and forgetfulness about recent conversations.
Eloping: to run away or escape from an area.
Environmental modifications: making changes to physical and social
areas to comfort a person with dementia. Exit seeking behavior: attempts to elope such as pushing on doors or
trying to follow staff out of open doors.
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F
Face Legs Activity Crying Consolability (FLACC) Scale: a pain scale
that professionals can use for persons with dementia that does not
require the PWD to respond to questions. The health care
professional rates 5 areas on a scale of 0 to 2 and determines a
pain score. Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST): The FAST Dementia Staging
tool uses a global standard to properly stage the progression of a dementing disorder.
Frontal lobe: A part of the brain that control impulses, judgment,
language, motor function, problem solving, sexual behavior,
socialization, and executive functioning.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD): a rare disorder, also known as Pick's
disease, noted by severe atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes
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Geriatric assessment: The geriatric assessment is a diagnostic
process, carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals,
used to determine medical, functional, and psychosocial capabilities
in an elderly patient in order to make a comprehensive treatment
plan. Global deterioration scale (GDS): The Global Deterioration Scale is
a seven point rating scale, to determine whether an individual has
cognitive impairments similar to dementia.
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H
Hand under hand technique: A method of using your hand over their
hand to help the person and guide them. This technique can be used
for guided walking, sitting down, and many other tasks.
Hallucination: Unclear sensory experiences, generated by the mind,
that appear to be real perceptions. Hoarding: acquiring and collecting, a large number of items that
appear to be useless or of no value. Horticultural therapy: a process utilizing plants and horticultural
activities to improve social, educational, psychological and
physical adjustment of persons. Hydration: To replenish the water in your body
Hypothalamus: The part of the brain that regulates body other
autonomic activities.
Incontinence: Incontinence is the loss of normal control of the
bowel or bladder.
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Infantilization: To treat an elderly person as if they were a young
child. Irreversible dementia: is caused by an incurable condition (e.g.,
Alzheimer's disease). Interactive artwork: a form of artwork that engages a person in some
way. Intrusive wandering: behavior in which the person goes uninvited
into unsafe or personal areas within the facility.
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J
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K
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L
Landmarks: A prominent identifying feature within an area that helps
to provide orientation and direction. Late stage dementia: the last stage of the illness where the person
becomes dependent on caregivers for all their physical needs.
Difficulties are noted in swallowing, recognition, incontinence and
speech. Comfort measures are needed at this time. Learned helplessness: A mental state in which people feel that they
have no control over their life and that failure is expected.
Lewy body dementia: Identified by Frederick Lewy, LBD is a disorder
that usually occurs in persons older than 65 years of age and
typically causes symptoms of cognitive impairment and abnormal
behavioral changes.
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Massage therapy: the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body
for the purpose of relaxation. Middle stage dementia: The second stage of dementia, which is
characterized by more support needed to manage day to day living.
Persons at this stage may show behavioral changes due to frustration
and have confusion/low safety awareness involving themselves and
others. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): A newer term to describe a subtle
yet measurable cognitive deficit that does not yet interfere with
their activities of daily living (such as bathing, dressing, etc.).
Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE): a brief 30-point questionnaire test,
that can be given by most professionals, that is used to assess
cognition. Montessori techniques: is a method of working with older adults
living with cognitive and/or physical impairments based on the ideas
of the educator Maria Montessori. Multi-infarct dementia: is one form of dementia that occurs when
small blood vessels in the brain are blocked by blood clots or fatty
deposits, also called Vascular dementia. Multi-sensory environment: is a dedicated room/space designed to
block out noise, control space, temperature and lighting to
stimulate the senses and promote pleasurable feelings.
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N
Neurologist: is a physician who has undergone additional training to
diagnose and treat disorders of the nervous system.
Neuropsychologist: A clinical psychologist is a licensed
professional who holds a doctoral degree in psychology and works in
the area of prevention and treatment of emotional and mental
disorders and brain-behavior relationships.
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O
Occipital lobe: A part of the brain containing the visual
center.
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Pacing: a quicker form of wandering where the person with dementia
appears to have a destination in mind. Continued pacing can burn a
large number of calories so small frequent meals would be
recommended. Parallel programming: Having any and all staff members "moderate"
activities with small groups while other things go on ('formal'
activities, etc) is the definition of parallel programming. It is a
great way to supplement the level of stimulation for the residents.
Paranoia: an exaggerated distrust of others.
Parietal lobe: the part of the brain that integrates sensory
information from different areas and helps determine spatial
locations of objects. Perseveration: a behavior in which the same ideas, movements, words
are repeated. Person-centered care: incorporating the patient's perspective into
actual care Person with dementia (PWD): an abbreviation for "a person with
dementia", sometimes used in the literature Pet therapy: utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve
specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with
patients. Pick's disease: A rare disorder characterized by severe atrophy of
the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, now called Frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Plaques: a mass or buildup of proteins) believed to cause loss of
neurons and vascular damage.
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R
Reality orientation: a less-used technique in which persons are told
or shown certain reminders to increase in interaction with others
and improved orientation. Works best in the early stages of
dementia. Reiki: a form of therapy that uses simple hands-on, no-touch, and
visualization techniques, with the goal of improving the flow of
life energy in a person. Reminiscence: The act or process of recollecting past experiences or
events. Restorative: a technique of encouraging independence and use of ADL's to restore and maintain health in persons with dementia.
Reversible dementia: a form of dementia that can be cured partially
or completely with treatment. Rummaging: a dementia behavior noted by the aimless moving of
objects, looking through things and touching objects.
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S
Safety: an area of concern for caregivers of persons with dementia
since safety awareness diminishes over the course of dementia.
Sensory stimulation: arousing the brain through any of the senses.
Shadowbox: a small framed and enclosed box that displays momentos
from a person's past, usually placed outside room as an identifier.
The shadowbox also helps others learn key facts about the person to
help in care. Signage: signs with pictures and words placed in key areas to help
persons with dementia with orientation Sleep disorders: The disruption of sleep-wake cycles is common in
persons with mid-stage dementia and can cause sleep disorders such
as insomnia. Snoezelen®: a trademarked group of sensory stimulation products sold
by Flaghouse, Inc. (www.flaghouse.com). The word "Snoezelen"
originated in the Netherlands and means "to snooze or dose".
Social model: a model of care that focuses on the social aspects of
care rather than the medical causes. Specialty unit: an area or part of a facility that is dedicated to
housing and meeting the unique needs of one population or group of
people. Spaced retrieval: a method of practicing the recall of information
over progressively longer intervals of time; thought to help with
repetitive questions. Sundowning: agitation and hyperactivity that begins in the early to
mid afternoon and worsens over the course of the evening. Most
sundowning behavior begins in mid-stage dementia and slowly worsens
as cognitive function is lost.
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Tangles: clustered a kind of cellular debris known as plaques.
Plaques are made up of dead cells and deposits of protein.
Temporal lobe: A part of the brain containing the sensory center of
hearing. Therapeutic garden: a specially designed garden that stimulates the
mind, body and spirit and provides special features to the group it
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V
Validation Therapy: Developed by Naomi Feil, validation therapy is a
method of communicating with and helping disoriented persons by
giving them an opportunity to express what they wish to express
whether it is verbal or non-verbal communication. Vascular dementia: a form of dementia that occurs when small blood
vessels in the brain are blocked by blood clots or fatty deposits,
also referred to as multi-infarct dementia.
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W
Wandering: behavior noted by moving about without any clear
destination. Weight loss: a concern during all the stages of dementia but
particularly in the middle to late stages. Word finding: searching for a word that is "just on the tip of my
tongue". Word salad: a jumble of unrelated words, all mixed together that are
used to communicate Wayfinding: using environmental cues and other techniques, persons
with dementia are assisted in locating key areas.
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