JOAN’S BLOG – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 – DIVERT, DISTRACT, AND DE-ESCALATE!

The purpose of this website has been, first and foremost, to offer support and information to spouses of Alzheimer patients. Along the way, we have managed to raise the public’s awareness about the signs, symptoms, and manifestations of the disease, its effect on caregivers, and how to manage the behaviors exhibited by Alzheimer patients. Through our efforts of person to person contact, writings, conference attendance, public speaking, and media contacts, we have enlightened and educated a vast amount of lay people and professionals in this country and around the world.

Because of an accumulation of my own experiences, today I am once again asking that you help me reach out to professionals to provide Alzheimer education to every health care worker from doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, to medical assistants and aides.

We veterans know from experience, and our new members are learning, that when an Alzheimer patient obsesses over something he/she perceives as an injustice done to them, real or imagined, the #1 Rule is – YOU CANNOT REASON WITH OR ARGUE WITH AN ALZHEIMER PATIENT. Do not even attempt to reason or argue with them. It will give them the ammunition they need to escalate their protests and agitate them into incessant arguing, shouting, and sometimes, violence. Trying to reason with an Alzheimer patient is akin to adding gasoline to a fire.

The three most important words to remember are: Distract, divert, and de-escalate. If you can distract their attention, divert them to another activity, they will soon forget what they were obsessing over, and the situation will de-escalate.

Every husband, wife, or any family member, who deals with a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease either knows and follows this rule, or struggles daily to adhere to it. Every health professional who works with Alzheimer patients should be taught this rule, and monitored to make sure it is followed. Not doing so causes immense stress and anxiety to both patient and caregiver, possible violence as mentioned, and a situation that often leads to hours of out of control patient behavior. All preventable with proper Alzheimer education.

The disease changes the brain. We can no longer talk to our loved ones or relate to them as we did pre-Alzheimer’s Disease. We must learn new techniques for handling their obsessive anger and argumentative behavior. It is my opinion that anyone who has not been trained in Alzheimer’s 101 - distract, divert, and de-escalate – should not be allowed to work with Alzheimer patients.

My husband resides in a small, locked, Alzheimer unit in a nursing home. The unit consists of one corridor of rooms (19 beds), at the end of which is a nurse’s station and large activity/dining room. For valid reasons, he was moved to a single room, about four doors farther away from the central nurse’s station/activity room than his previous room. He did not take well to the change. He has literally been screaming, swearing, and arguing about it for over a week with anyone within earshot. Most of the nurses, and particularly the Alzheimer director, are experts in D, D, and D., and have been able to diffuse his outbursts.

However, one afternoon last week, I walked in and witnessed a licensed health professional trying to reason with him about the room change. She kept explaining to him the reason for the change, how much better the new room was, how he was helping them by agreeing to it, and on and on and on. The more she talked, the louder, more agitated, and more argumentative he became. I stepped in and told her to stop, giving her all of the reasons I have outlined in this blog. She told me that she had the same “discussion” with him the day before, and felt that he had been more reasonable about it at that time. I told her that what occurs on one day has nothing to do with the next, that he does not remember yesterday, and that due to his Alzheimer’s Disease, which is why he is in an Alzheimer Unit, he cannot be reasoned with. She told me that she had to try. I told her to drop it, and I would distract him. She scampered away while I distracted him and diverted his attention with funny stories about my recent neighborhood garage sale. He was smiling again in a matter of minutes.

I urge everyone to be vigilant about the health professionals who care for your spouse, whether in a facility or at home. Ask if they have been trained to deal with Alzheimer behaviors, and watch to see that they follow proper procedure.

In the meantime, I ask that you help me spread the word about Alzheimer education for health professionals. Many of our members are retired or currently working doctors, nurses, social workers, nurse practitioners, and other health care workers. You have the contacts to be able to advocate for mandatory Alzheimer education for health care professionals. Those of us who are not in the health care field can speak up to our own doctors, care facility administrators, and anyone else in our path, about the vital necessity of Alzheimer education for health care workers. Our loved ones deserve nothing less than the best trained people caring for them.

MESSAGE BOARDS: Joan's Blog - Divert, Distract, and De-escalate

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