You are assigned to care for Mr. A, 85, who has Alzheimer’sdisease. He often wanders from room to room and tries to open theoutside doors. He frequently becomes agitated and restless,especially in the evening. Most of the time, Mr. A is unable tofeed himself and is often incontinent. He keeps repeating, “Helpme, help me,” all day long.
a. What methods could you use to make sure Mr. A receives thecare needed to maintain good personal hygiene? How could you gethim to cooperate or participate in his care?
b. What parts of Mr. A behaviour would be most difficult for youto tolerate?
c. What would you do if you found yourself becoming irritatedand angry with Mr. A?
d. What information in this chapter has helped you to understandpeople like Mr. A better? How will this information help you togive better care to these people and to maintain their quality oflife?
e. How do you feel about caring for a person like this?Frightened? Angry? Impatient?
f. How do you deal with your feelings so that you can give careto the person?
g. At what stage of Alzheimer’s disease is Mr. A? What signs andsymptoms support your answer?
h. Why would it be ineffective to remind Mr. A of the date andtime during your shift?
i. Why is reminding the person of the date and time a goodtechnique with some people who are confused and not withothers?
j. Why does Mr. A become more agitated toward evening? What isthis called?
