Don't Bother Trying, They Won't Do It! Effect of Responsive Behaviors on the Montessori Assessment System.

OBJECTIVES: The Montessori Assessment System (MAS) is an assessment tool that aims at assessing preserved abilities in persons with moderate to severe dementia and to serve as basis for person-centered interventions. As responsive behaviors are highly frequent in this population, we assessed their possible influence on the MAS administration and results. METHODS: 193 persons with a diagnosis of dementia in the moderate to severe stages living in nursing homes completed the MAS. Responsive behaviors were assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). RESULTS: The NPI scores were heterogeneous, but responsive behaviors were present for at least 5 NPI domains in more than 50% of the participants. While NPI scores had weak relationships with MAS completion time and total score, primarily for the hallucinations, euphoria, and aberrant motor behaviors domains, a large majority of the participants fully completed the MAS. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of responsive behaviors as assessed by the NPI does not limit MAS administration, despite minor influence on MAS score and completion time. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The MAS may be applied to persons with moderate to severe dementia presenting responsive behaviors. Assessment of preserved abilities can greatly improve the design of person-centered care plans in this population.

[Montessori Method applied to dementia, a person-centered global approach Part 2. Review of literature, effects and perspectives]. / La méthode Montessori adaptée aux personnes âgées présentant des troubles cognitifs, une approche globale centrée sur la personne Partie 2. Données de la littérature scientifique, effets et perspectives.

During the last ten years, the Montessori method has become a popular approach for the care of older adults living with dementia, with a growing number of institutions claiming its use. In this context, this narrative review aims at summarizing the research on its effects, benefits, and potential limits. Since the end of the 90s, a growing number of researchers across the world have investigated the Montessori method applied to dementia. Most of those studied the effects of Montessori activities. A few putted their focus on Montessori as a global, person-centered model of care. In general, research shows significant positive effects of Montessori on engagement, behaviors, affects, and functional abilities, as, for example, eating abilities. Benefits for caregivers have also been demonstrated. However, an important part of this research suffers from methodological weaknesses. In the future, other research is necessary to better understand the effects and best application conditions of Montessori method, especially in French speaking countries. Qualitative studies also seem to be a promising path to better understand where this new model of care can best lead those who apply it.

[Montessori Method applied to dementia, a person-centered global approach Part 1: Origins and principles]. / La méthode Montessori adaptée aux personnes âgées présentant des troubles cognitifs, une approche globale centrée sur la personne Partie 1 : Origines et grands principes fondamentaux.

While dementia care is going through a major crisis, a strong call for the development of person-centered care for persons with a diagnosis of dementia has recently emerged. Person-centered care (PCC) is a philosophical and theorical intervention framework acknowledging that the individual is still a person who can live positive life experiences and relationships, despite a progressive disease, even at severe stages. It has arisen as a response to a medical model, focused on pathology and deficits. The benefits of PCC have been well documented. However, questions remain about how to concretely provide it. In this context, the Montessori method applied to dementia represents one way to apply person-centered care to person with dementia. Based on the philosophy and principles of the scientific pedagogy developed by Maria Montessori, it integrates PCC principles, associated with rehabilitation techniques, to promote constructive engagement in meaningful activities, to give back sense of control to the person with dementia, and to allow the person to have a role in the community. In this article, we will first present the person-centered care philosophy, its main principles, and effects. Secondly, we will describe a brief historical perspective of the Montessori method for person with dementia. Then, we will present Montessori principles in a detailed and structured way.

[Spaced-retrieval in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Critical review and clinical applications]. / Utilisation de la technique de récupération espacée dans la prise en charge des patients atteints de maladie d'Alzheimer. Revue critique et applications cliniques.

Memory deficit is the most common and invalidating cognitive impairment in subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD). So far, pharmacological treatment shows little efficacy on the memory deficits. Recent studies have shown that specific cognitive remediation techniques can help compensating for memory deficits in AD dementia, even in advanced stages. Spaced retrieval is a technique based on recalling information over progressively longer intervals of time. It helps the patients with dementia learning and memorizing new information and is particularly suited for activities of daily life improvement. This paper first review the efficacy of this method in different types of dementia and more specifically in Alzheimer's disease; second, the cognitive mechanisms underlying spaced retrieval and the cognitive and clinical factors determining its efficacy are presented. Then the advantages and feasibility of the spaced retrieval technique in common clinical practice are discussed, and specific recommendations are given.

Victoria Stroop Test: normative data in a sample group of older people and the study of their clinical applications in the assessment of inhibition in Alzheimer's disease.

The Stroop Color-Word Test-Victoria version (VST) is a measure of executive function commonly used in neuropsychological evaluation. Because of its short administration time, the VST seems particularly appropriate for use in geriatric populations and with those suffering from dementia and who are prone to fatigue during neuropsychological examination. In this study, we examine the influence of demographic characteristics on VST score and present descriptive data for a sample of 244 elderly French speakers (50-94 years of age). Normative data corrected for age and education are provided for clinical use. Furthermore, by comparing the VST performance of patients with the Alzheimer-type dementia to that of 40 matched healthy controls, we provide clinical evidence suggesting that the VST has a clinical utility in the assessment of inhibition in AD.