Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Training Manual
Rebecca Ralph
Instructor: Deb Hatfield
March 4, 2015
Table of Contents
Introduction3
Meaning of Differentiated Instruction
What it means to be a CAREgiver 4
What is asked of a CAREgiver
What is Alzheimers and Dementia.. 5
Symptoms of Alzheimers
Different stages of Dementia.7
Early stage
What to expect
Role of the CAREgiver
Middle stage
What to expect
Role of the CAREgiver
Late stage
What to expect
Role of the CAREgiver
Ways to Communicate..10
Best ways to communicate
Daily Activities.11
Organizing the day
Appendix
Handouts
Resources
Introduction
Welcome to this training session! Thank you for wanting to be a CAREgiver for those who
suffer from Alzheimers and dementia. As you are probably aware of, Alzheimers and dementia
is a serious disease attacking todays elderly people. This training manual will help guide and
direct you as a CAREgiver when handling with a client that suffers from this disease. Before we
begin, I will guide you in what type of training session this is. I will first explain what
differentiated instruction is and how it will relate to the clients you will come across. Once again
I am very delighted to have this opportunity to train you as you begin your journey as a
CAREgiver for those who suffer with Alzheimers and dementia. Welcome!
What is differentiated instruction?
Differentiated instruction is the way in which a teacher anticipates and responds to a variety of
student needs in the classroom. To meet student needs, teachers differentiate by modifying the
content (what is being taught), the process (how it is taught) and the product (how students
demonstrate their learning). In this training manual, I will demonstrate the seriousness of
Alzheimers and dementia, how to help loved ones to cope with the disease and I will have an
assessment at the end of the training session to test your understanding of being a CAREgiver to
our Alzheimers and dementia clients.
Being a CAREgiver affects adult learning in so many ways. Once you have a general
understanding of being a CAREgiver, you will be able to train other CAREgivers, including
family members, on how to work with those who suffer from Alzheimers and dementia. This
training session is designed to train not only the trainee but the trainer as well. In the following
pages, I will provide valuable information that will help the trainer to train others when it comes
to this disease. This training manual will also be useful when a client cannot understand what is
happening to him or her. This manual will help the CAREgiver be able to communicate with
those with Alzheimers and dementia on how to best explain the clients condition. I will provide
in the Appendix useful information from a number of sources that will guide and direct
CAREgivers to help the clients love ones to cope with this new lifestyle.
As mentioned earlier, thank you for considering being a CAREgiver. This is an awarding field
and learning experience for all of those involved.
A lot of our clients have early stages of Alzheimers, but for the most part it is difficult to
recognize it at first. Keeping these above points in mind when handling a dementia client will
help you as a CAREgiver recognize what you may be handling. This will make your career as a
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CAREgiver easy and enjoyable. Remember these clients need caring CAREgivers that will help
them perform daily tasks that they once could do on their own but not anymore.
Dementia
According to Alzheimers Association, dementia is a general term for decline in mental ability
severe enough to interfere with daily life (www.alz.org). Dementia is not considered to be a
specific disease and it consist a wide range of symptoms. With Alzheimers being the first most
common form of dementia, vascular dementia is the second most common form.
Symptoms of Dementia
Alzheimers Association lists the symptoms of dementia:
Memory
Communication and language
Ability to focus and pay attention
Reasoning and judgment
Visual perception (www.alz.org)
Keep in mind, that having these symptoms in mind will help your to perform well as a
CAREgiver with those who have dementia.
Keeping appointments
Remembering words or names
Recalling familiar places or people
Managing money
Keeping track of medications
Doing familiar tasks
Planning or organizing
One way of being a successful CAREgiver is to know your clients strengths and weaknesses.
Our company will provide client information to help you with your care. At this stage, things are
changing for the client and another important thing to offer is emotional support. Keeping a
calm environment will help the client continue to function at ease.
Late-Stage Caregiving
At this stage, the client can be suffering from this for several weeks to several years. It varies
from client to client. At this stage, the client is required intensive care which means around the
clock care. The client cannot be left alone. A CAREgiver must be provided 24/7.
What to expect
Alzheimers Association provides a list of things to expect from clients who have entered the late
stages of dementia:
1.
2.
3.
4.
As will all the stages, it is very important to monitor the food intake and report any changes that
may be happening. Our company will be providing daily logs that you can keep track of. This
daily logs will be located at each of the clients homes. At the end of this training manual, I will
be providing examples of what you will be seeing at the clients homes.
Some of the ways a CAREgiver can help with the feeding according to Alzheimers Association
is:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Along with food monitoring, skin and body health is also to be considered:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ways to Communicate
When communicating with a client that suffers from Alzheimers and dementia, communicating
with them can be a challenge. There are helpful tips on how to communicate with clients who
suffer from this disease. Alzheimers Association provides a useful communication guide that
will help you as a CAREgiver to communicate effectively with your client. These tips are as
follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Daily Activities
Having a daily structured life is very important to those who have Alzheimers disease. Keeping
the day organized and structured will not only help the client, but you as a CAREgiver as well. It
will also help teach family members on how to keep the day organized for their loved one.
Being the example will help family members cope with this disease and help ease the stress and
burden that this disease can cause.
Organizing the day
Alzheimers Association is a valuable source when it comes to organizing the day for clients who
suffer from this disease. According the organization, before making a plan, consider:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Need to allow for flexibility because not every day is the same. Some days a client will have a
good day and is willing to carry out the daily activity, but other days the client will have a bad
day and it is not willing to perform the daily activities.
Some of the activities that you can perform as a CAREgiver are:
1. Household chores
a. Allow the client to work with you on daily household chores
b. This will help the client to function as independently as possible with some
assistance of course
2. Mealtimes
a. Clients love to help with meals
i. Allow clients to help with the meals
ii. This will bring joy to many clients knowing that they can still operate
independently
3. Personal Care
4. Creative Activities
a. Does your client like puzzles?
i. If so, work on a puzzle together
b. Does your client like doing crafts?
i. Create some crafts for your client to enjoy
c. Does your client like watching movies?
i. Bring over some of the movies that he/she might enjoy
5. Physical
6. Social
a. Keep the conversation going
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Short Answer
1. List four advances that Alzheimers leads up to:
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3. List four roles that a CAREGiver can perform during the early stage of Alzheimers:
4. What can a CAREgiver expect during the middle stages of Alzheimers? List the four
expectations:
5. List the five expectations that a CAREgiver can expect during the late stages of
Alzheimers:
6. List seven best ways to communicate with clients who have dementia:
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Appendix
Sample Activity Log
Client Name:__________________________________________________________________
CAREgiver:
Companionship
Hours
Shift Date:
Start time:
Overnight Hours
End time:
Miles Driven
Client Activity
____________________________________________________
CAREgiver:
Companionship
Hours
Shift Date:
Start time:
End time:
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Helpful Resources
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