Dementia and the Capacity for Learning

About this Certificate Program

In this certificate program, learn best practices to improve communication, manage behavior, and improve the quality of life of the individual with dementia and their support system. Carrie Ciro addresses how to manage the difficult behavior that can be associated with Dementia through creating meaningful routines and leveraging behavioral management techniques and environmental modifications. The series also teaches clinicians how to:

• Use both cognitive training and task-oriented training to improve function in daily life skills.
• Manage physical performance including gait changes, pain and mobility, and fall risk.
• Assess and design treatment plans to improve ADLs common with individuals with Dementia.
• Apply a framework for training people with dementia how to use assistive technology within a task-orientated program.

Target audience

This certification is open to all health care professionals, but has been targeted to address the needs of OTs, OTAs, PTs, and PTAs.

Goals & objectives

• Understand and implement interventions for managing behavior with people living with dementia.

• Describe and implement task-oriented training using a motor learning framework to develop meaningful treatment plans.

• Successfully evaluate ADLs, with a focus on meaningful goals, as a motivator for therapy and an enhancer of recovery.

• Identify and implement interventions to manage the four areas that physical performance in people with dementia.

• Identify appropriate low and high tech assistive technology options that can be incorporated into task-oriented training.