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Learning Objectives

PRESENTATION TITLE:Monoarticular Arthritis: How to Handle a Hot JointPRESENTER(S):

Persons with dementia are challenged to communicate their needs as the brain declines in functional abilities and cognition. Often in persons with dementia, responses and attempts to communicate are misunderstood as agitation or combative behaviors. No medications have been approved for treating agitated behaviors in most dementias. Yet these behaviors occur in up to 90% of persons living with dementia and serve to communicate that the person is experiencing some form of distress due to unmet needs. This can result in unnecessary exposure to medications such as antipsychotics and worse, a continued unmet need. Understanding the expected changes of the brain as dementia progresses and its impact on cognition, sensory and functional impairments will improve one’s ability to understand and communicate with persons with dementia. This presentation will review brain changes in advancing dementia and its relationship to how communication becomes compromised; discuss common unmet needs and protective responses frequently misunderstood as “behaviors” and explore methods to effectively interpret and respond using customized approaches to meet the unmet needs and/or improve communication in persons with dementia; as well as discuss common medication classes that can worsen cognition and function in dementia.

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PRESENTATION TITLE

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