Question

 Mr. Heron is a 78-year-old client of the agency you are employed with. He lives in a retirement home but is supported by your agency two mornings each week. He has been a client of yours for a month. Mr. Heron's forgetfulness is progressing slowly, but he remains a person with precise ideas and preferences regarding how things should be done. Mr. Heron's occupation was a high school principal. He held that position for over thirty years. He is married and has two adult children and five grandchildren.

 Three times in the last two weeks when you have visited Mr. Heron you have found him hovering near the elevator in his building. He has appeared slightly agitated and has not been fully dressed. Today you find him in the same location wearing a suit jacket with no shirt underneath, and he seems particularly upset. He says to you, "The train is leaving and l've got to be on it or I will be late for school."

 a. How might Mr. Heron's personality and past experiences influence the behavior you witness today? 

 b. What actions or verbal direction might you do or suggest in order to make Mr. Heron more comfortable?  

 3. Why is depression often mistaken for dementia? (1 mark)

 4. Using the three stages of dementia, explain how you would support your client with their meal times and eating in each of the stages.  

•  Mild Stage:

•  Moderate Stage:

•  Severe Stage:

 5. A client you are assigned by your home care agency has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease - Stage 2. List five safety concerns you would have in the client's. home.  

Answer 1

1. It is common for a person to be influenced by his past experiences in his present behavior. Mr. Heron has been a school principal in his past days which have influenced his present behavior in terms of his precise ideas and preferences. Moreover, even though his forgetfulness has made him forget his present state but he remember the train he used to board in his past.
2. I will surely not rush toward Mr. Heron. I will ask him to calm down by using soft language and voice. I will help him by guiding him to his room and ask him about what he was thinking. I will comfort him by saying that it is very normal to experience such issues and some therapy can certainly improve this condition. Hope can certainly make him comfortable in this situation.

3. Depression is often mistaken for dementia because people in their early stages of dementia often experience symptoms similar to depression. Physicians thus tends to confuse between dementia and depression.
4. Mild stage: supplementing meals with healthy and tasty snacks and providing simple meal choices.

Moderate stage: allowing more time for every meal and eliminating distractions.

Severe stage: making eating easy for them and setting reminders for the patient.

5. Keeping safe stairs

Checking the locks

Using proper night lights

Preparing for emergencies

Adjusting phones at home for easy use