Indirect Interventions to Facilitate Communication in Alzheimer's Disease

Tammy Hopper

doi:10.1055/s-2001-17428

Seminars in Speech and Language, Table of Contents

Semin Speech Lang 2001; 22(4): 305-316
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-17428

Indirect Interventions to Facilitate Communication in Alzheimer's Disease

Tammy Hopper

National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Indirect interventions are designed to maximize the functioning of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) through training of caregivers, modifying the physical environment, and developing therapeutic routines and activities. In this article, characteristics of AD caregivers are described, caregiver communication strategies are discussed, and examples of caregiver communication training programs are provided. Environmental modifications and routines and activities to improve communication are detailed.

KEYWORD

Alzheimer's disease - caregiver training - environment - communication - activities

Full Text

References

REFERENCES

1 Clark L W. Interventions for persons with Alzheimer's disease: strategies for maintaining and enhancing communicative success. Top Lang Disord . 1995; 15 47-65
2 Bayles K A, Tomoeda C K. Improving Function in Dementia and Other Cognitive Linguistic Disorders. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; 1997
3 Dunkin J J, Anderson-Hanley C. Dementia caregiving burden. A review of the literature and guidelines for assessment, and intervention. Neurology . 1998; 51(Suppl 1) S53-S60
4 Mace N L, Rabins P V. The 36-Hour Day. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 1999
5 Almberg B, Grafstrom M, Winblad B. Major strain and coping strategies as reported by family members who care for aged demented relatives. J Adv Nurs . 1997; 26 683-691
6 Donaldson C, Tarrier N, Burns A. The impact of the symptoms of dementia on caregivers. Br J Psychiatry . 1997; 170 62-68
7 Katon W, Kleinman A, Rosen G. Depression and somatization: a review. Part I. Am J Med . 1982; 72 127-135
8 Kinney J M, Stephens M AP. Caregiving hassles scale: assessing the daily hassles of caring for a family member with dementia. Gerontologist . 1989; 29 328-332
9 Bayles K A, Tomoeda C K. Caregiver report of prevalence and appearance order of linguistic symptoms in Alzheimer's patients. Gerontologist . 1991; 31 210-216
10 Donaldson C, Burns A. Burden of Alzheimer's disease: helping the patient and caregiver. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol . 1999; 12 21-28
11 Sigman S. Conversational behavior in two health care institutions for the elderly. Int J Aging Hum Dev . 1985; 21 147-163
12 Lee V K. Language changes and Alzheimer's disease: a literature review. J Gerontol Nurs . 1991; 17 16-20
13 Bohling H R. Communication with Alzheimer's patients: an analysis of caregiver listening patterns. Int J Aging Hum Dev . 1991; 33 249-267
14 Pietro M J. Assessing the communicative styles of caregivers of parents with Alzheimer's disease. Semin Speech Lang . 1994; 15 236-246
15 Kempler D, Curtiss S, Jackson C. Syntactic preservation in Alzheimer's disease. J Speech Hear Res . 1987; 30 343-350
16 Schwartz M, Marin O, Saffran E. Dissociations of language function in dementia: a case study. Brain Lang . 1979; 7 277-306
17 Bayles K A, Kaszniak A W. Communication and Cognition in Normal Aging and Dementia. Boston: Little, Brown; 1987
18 Kempler D, Almor A, Tyler L K, Andersen E S, MacDonald M E. Sentence comprehension deficits in Alzheimer's disease: a comparison of off-line versus on-line sentence processing. Brain Lang . 1998; 64 297-316
19 Bayles K A, Tomoeda C K. The ABCs of Dementia. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; 1993
20 Small J A, Anderson E, Kempler D. The effects of working memory capacity on understanding rate-altered speech. Aging Neuropsychol Cogn . 1997; 4 126-139
21 Almor A, Kempler D, MacDonald M C, Andersen E S, Tyler L K. Why do Alzheimer patients have difficulty with pronouns?. <~>Working memory, semantics, and reference in comprehension and production in Alzheimer's disease. Brain Lang . 1999; 67 202-227
22 Small J A, Kemper S, Lyons K. Sentence comprehension in Alzheimer's disease: effects of grammatical complexity, speech rate, and repetition. Psychol Aging . 1977; 12 3-11
23 Tappen R M, Williams-Burgess C, Edelstein J, Touhy T, Fishman S. Communicating with individuals with Alzheimer's disease: examination of recommended strategies. Arch Psychiatr Nurs . 1997; 11 249-256
24 Ripich D N, Ziol E, Fritsch T, Durand E J. Training Alzheimer's disease caregivers for successful communication. Clin Gerontol . 1999; 21 37-56
25 Hopper T, Bayles K A, Tomoeda C K. Using toys to stimulate communicative function in individuals with AD. J Med Speech Lang Pathol . 1998; 6 73-80
26 Feil N. The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's-Type Dementia. Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press; 1996
27 Luterick A M, Altman R. An empathetic approach to dementia. Provider Magazine . 2001; April 43-44
28 Brush J A, Camp C J. Using spaced-retrieval as a therapeutic intervention during the rehabilitation process (J Chitwood, director). In: CK Tomoeda (producer), Telerounds. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona; 1998
29 Albert M L, Sandson J. Perseveration in aphasia. Cortex . 1986; 22 103-115
30 Buckingham H W, Whitaker H, Whitaker H. On linguistic perseveration. In: Whitaker H, Whitaker H, eds. Studies in Neurolinguistics, Vol 4 New York: Academic Press 1976: 329-352
31 Santo-Pietro M J, Rigrodsky S. Patterns of oral-verbal perseveration in adult aphasics. Brain Lang . 1986; 29 1-17
32 Sloane P D, Davidson S, Knight N, Tangen C, Mitchell C M. Severe disruptive vocalizers. J Am Geriatr Soc . 1999; 47 439-445
33 Cariaga J, Burgio L, Flynn W, Martin D. A controlled study of disruptive vocalizations among geriatric residents in nursing homes. J Am Geriatr Soc . 1991; 39 501-507
34 Cohen-Mansfield J, Werner P, Marx M S. Screaming in nursing home residents. J Am Geriatr Soc . 1990; 38 785-792
35 Ryan D P, Tainsh S MM, Kolodny V, Lendrum B L, Fisher R H. Noise making among the elderly in long-term care. Gerontologist . 1988; 28 369-371
36 Clavel D S. Vocalizations among cognitively impaired elders. What is your patient trying to tell you?. Geriatr Nurs . 1999; 20 90-93
37 Hallberg I R, Edberg A K, Nordmark A, Johnsson K. Daytime vocal activity in institutionalized severely demented patients identified as vocally disruptive by nurses. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry . 1993; 8 155-164
38 Boucher L A. Disruptive behaviors in individuals with Alzheimer's disease: a behavioral approach. Am J Alzheimer's Dis . 1999; 14 351-356
39 Ripich D N. Functional communication with AD patients: a caregiver training program. Alzheimer's Dis Assoc Disord . 1994; 8(Suppl 3) 95-100
40 Ripich D N, Ziol E, Lee M M. Longitudinal effects of communication training on caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. Clin Gerontol . 1998; 19 37-55
41 Ripich D N, Kercher K, Wykle M, Sloan D M, Ziol E. Effects of communication training on African-American and white caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. J Aging Ethnicity . 1998; 1 163-178
42 Clark L W, Witte K. Dealing with Dementia in Long Term Care. Presentation for the New York State Speech, Language and Hearing Association, Kiamesh, New York, 1989, cited by Clark LW. Interventions for persons with Alzheimer's disease: strategies for maintaining and enhancing communicative success. Top Lang Disord . 1995; 15 47-65
43 Clark L W. Caregiver stress and communication management in Alzheimer's disease. In: Ripich D, ed. Handbook of Geriatric Communication Disorders Austin, TX: Pro-Ed 1991: 127-142
44 Cleary S. Management of Feeding and Swallowing in Patients with Dementia. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; 1998
45 Santo Pietro J M, Boczko F. The Breakfast Club: results of a study examining the effectiveness of a multi-modality group communication treatment. Am J Alzheimer's Dis May/June. 1998;
46 National Alzheimer's Association. Website: www.alz.org.