As individuals age, they deal with an increasing number of emotional, physical, and environmental losses. One loss older adults encounter is their own and others' deaths. Older adults with dementia may face greater difficulty in understanding and dealing with death-related issues because of cognitive and memory changes. Little literature exists to…

Background: We examined the presence of medical conditions and medication use within a sample of adults with Down syndrome. Methods: Retrospective chart review using a sample of 141 adults with Down syndrome and age range of 30 to 65 years. Results: We identify 23 categories of commonly occurring medical conditions and 24 categories of medications…

Purpose: We develop a conceptual model and associated assessment template that is usable across state jurisdictions for evaluating the independent-living capacity of older adults in guardianship proceedings. Design and Methods: We used an iterative process in which legal provisions for guardianship and prevailing clinical practices for capacity…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 13-week adult education class for older adults with early-stage dementia titled Health Promotion for the Mind, Body, and Spirit. The mixed method research design (N = 14) used a quasiexperimental one-group pretest/posttest and the qualitative methods of focus group and phone interview with…

Del Giacco Art Therapy is a cognitive art therapy process that focuses on stimulating the mental sensory systems and working to stabilize the nervous system and create new neural connections in the brain. This system was created by Maureen Del Giacco, Phd. after recovering from her own traumatic brain injury and is based on extensive research of…

Purpose: Evidence suggests that physical activity and healthy diets may help to maintain cognitive function, reducing risks of developing Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Using a cross-cultural focus, we describe older adults' awareness about cognitive health, and their ideas about how to inform and motivate others to engage in…

Herzog and Wallace (A. Herzog and R. Wallace, 1997) discussed a measure designed to assess the cognitive functioning of older adults who participated in the study formerly known as the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). The measure derived from four well-known tests of cognitive functioning, but improves on them by combining…

Screening interviews and clinical assessments were conducted of Manitobans over age 85: 74 had no cognitive impairments, 94 had impairments with no dementia, and 58 had dementia. Half of those with dementia and one-quarter of those with impairments received home care. Type, cost, and amount of community health services used varied with each…

Family caregivers (n=30), mostly daughters caring for parents with dementia, participated in an education and support program. Responses from 24 after three months showed the following outcomes: practical caregiving knowledge, increased understanding, awareness of community services, fellowship with other caregivers, and awareness of their own…

The Model of Human Occupation was used to design a program to train and support four dementia patients in daily living activities focused on motor skills and procedural memory. The Assessment for Motor and Process Skills showed gains for three of the four, paralleled by a decrease in the amount of support needed from therapists in task…

A study was conducted of juvenile offenders serving as volunteers working with frail elderly (some with dementia). Both generations experienced personal benefits from participation. Key characteristics promoting social inclusion were trusting partnerships, inclusive practices, and champions, project supporters who served as a bridge between the…

Describes the Telematics Applications Supporting Cognition (TASC) project, an international collaboration funded by the European Union to develop a microcomputer-based system supporting decision-making, planning, and communication for persons with cognitive disabilities. Considers a flexible, modular solution to meet the needs of persons with…

Semantic dementia patients make numerous phoneme migration errors in their immediate serial recall of poorly comprehended words. In this study, similar errors were induced in the word recall of healthy participants by presenting unpredictable mixed lists of words and nonwords. This technique revealed that lexicality, word frequency, imageability,…

Research on assessment and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is moving at a rapid pace. Continuing education (CE) providers must translate new findings for clinicians so as to enhance patient care. A two-page survey was distributed by mail to a sample of 5,000 licensed Missouri clinicians to gather data in support of this translation process.…

Cognitive care training, also known as dementia training, has changed significantly, and negatively, since 1993 in New York State nursing homes. The research reported in this paper examines the employment requirements for cognitive care training and the actual post-employment cognitive care training. The research involved a replication of the…