Dementia: Improving Activities of Living

Presented by Carrie Ciro

12-Month Subscription

Unlimited access to:

  • Thousands of CE Courses
  • Patient Education
  • Home Exercise Program
  • And more
Video Runtime: 117 Minutes; Learning Assessment Runtime: 70 Minutes

In this course, the participant will receive a broad overview of the activities of daily living (ADLs) that dementia patients excel at, while addressing common errors they may make as a function of the severity of their dementia. Assessment of ADLs, with a focus on meaningful goals, will be introduced as a motivator for therapy and an enhancer of recovery. This course outlines a step-by-step task-oriented training using a motor learning framework and includes opportunities to develop meaningful treatment plans.

Meet your instructor

Carrie Ciro

Dr. Carrie Ciro is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. She has over 20 years of clinical experience working with adults/older adults in a variety of settings, including skilled nursing, home health, and hospital care. Additionally, she has 20 years of…

Read full bio

Chapters & learning objectives

Common ADL Errors Per Severity of Dementia

1. Common ADL Errors Per Severity of Dementia

In the first chapter of this course, participants will learn to identify the importance and strength of using procedural memory to enhance ADLs. Dr. Carrie Ciro describes clinical patterns that fit a model describing how loved ones may unknowingly advance ADL/IADL disability. She outlines the errors typically seen in ADLs/IADLs for each level of severity.

Assessment of ADLs/IADLs

2. Assessment of ADLs/IADLs

Participants will learn to describe the differences and review the pros and cons for observation-based vs. self- or proxy-reported ADL/IADL assessments. She highlights observational assessments that provide the best information for treatment planning.

Meaningful Activity

3. Meaningful Activity

Dr. Carrie Ciro explains the importance of choosing meaningful ADL/IADL goals for improving participation and learning capacity in therapy. Participants will be introduced to the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure as an assessment to identify relevant goals.

Task-Oriented Training

4. Task-Oriented Training

This chapter discusses the importance of task-oriented training, tools and environments. Participants will learn how to develop a sequence of “practice-able” steps to deliver task-oriented training that may include assistive technology.

Motor Learning Applications to ADL Training

5. Motor Learning Applications to ADL Training

After learning about and reviewing evidence for errorless learning, participants will learn to differentiate between blocked and random practice, schedule for praise, and dosage for success in people with dementia.

Putting it All Together

6. Putting it All Together

This chapter synthesizes and sequences concepts of meaningful activity, task-oriented training, and motor learning in the treatment of ADL/IADL disability.

Caregiver Training

7. Caregiver Training

This segment of the course will highlight dementia caregiver perspectives on rehabilitation training, and introduce simple strategies to enhance success with translating your therapeutic interventions over to a different provider or caregiver.