Question

1. oscar, who has middle stage dementia, has joined art class today and the group is painting with watercolors. the activity staff puts a piece of paper, paints, a cup of water, and a brush in front of oscar and welcomes him to the activity. oscar sits at the table for a few minutes watching others but does not paint. what is the best next step the staff can take to help oscar?

tell oscar to watch the others and do what they are doing.
take away oscars painting supplies, he does not look interested.
place the brush in oscars hand and demonstrate the next step.
give oscar some crayons instead since he does not know how to paint.

1. during showers, sara often becomes agitated, pinches, and yells at others. what would be the best intervention to make showers less distressing for sara?

make sure there are several caregivers in the shower room to distract sara.
shower sara as quickly as possible to lessen the distressed time.
give sara something to hold onto so she cannot pinch caregivers.
tell sara what is going to happen each step of the process and remain calm.

Explanation:

For question 4:

• People with middle - stage dementia may have difficulty initiating actions. Demonstrating (placing the brush in the hand and showing the next step) can help overcome this initiation difficulty. Telling to watch others may not be effective as they may have cognitive processing issues. Taking away supplies is not helpful as it removes the opportunity. Assuming he doesn't know how to paint (and giving crayons) is not the best approach as the issue may be initiation rather than skill.

For question 5:

• People with dementia often get agitated due to confusion. Telling them each step of the process (providing clear information) and remaining calm can reduce anxiety. Having several caregivers may be over - stimulating. Showering quickly may not address the root cause of agitation. Giving something to hold may not solve the underlying distress from lack of understanding.

Answer:

1. C. Place the brush in Oscar's hand and demonstrate the next step.
2. D. Tell Sara what is going to happen each step of the process and remain calm.