Caregivers and People with Dementia

Caregivers and People with Dementia. 

When the adapted Montessori method is being used the rewards are plentiful for everyone involved…caregivers and people with dementia.

A person with Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia, is treated with respect, dignity and equality.

They get to live the best life they can despite their diagnosis. They live in a warm and nurturing community where they contribute to the best of their ability and feel the pride of accomplishment for doing so.

The afflicted person is encouraged to use their preserved capacities to help themselves and others in their community.

They take part in meaningful activities that engage their senses and their creativity – not activities routinely offered to while away the hours until the next meal, or bedtime.

The person with dementia is not in need of calming medication to the extent that they might be if they were not being cared for by people who used the Montessori approach. That’s because they are not as perturbed about their circumstances when living this way, having regained some degree of control over their daily lives.

They live a life that is not all about their affliction.

 

 

For the person providing care, they also are treated with respect, dignity and equality. That is the premise of the entire concept – those are the values lived by all who practice the approach that is the adapted Montessori method.

The caregiver is privileged to see their efforts, their actions and interventions culminating in positive outcomes for the affected persons.

They feel accomplished when they help to turn family visits into sweet, productive gatherings of loved ones – when they see that everyone walks away completely satisfied in their own way. And when they see small children smiling and waving bye, bye until the next opportunity they get to see their Grandparent…or Great Aunt or Uncle or whatever the case may be.

The caregiver is acknowledged and rewarded with the gratitude and warmth of their charges. They understand that is so even when unspoken…like feeling a warm, soft cheek pressed against their helping hand or seeing a tear and a smile coming from one face.

The caregiver using the adapted Montessori approach is engaged in a job or career that provides emotional satisfaction – one that they are happy to come back to the next day, not living in dread of going to ‘work’.

At the end of the day, they may be tired out physically, but they are buoyed up mentally.

Their work life is not all about demanding work, long hours and frustration.

Yes, it really is a new world of care that we’re talking about and it really does reignite passion for life…it’s proven, and you will see it for yourself if you take the opportunity.

Contact Mark Norris, Director of the Montessori Alzheimer Center and get this new world of care started in your residence. Click here to learn about Certified Training for Groups.