Many individuals with dementia and problem behavior are served in nursing home settings long before health issues necessitate constant medical care. Alternative community-based adult day health care programs allow individuals with dementia to remain in their home with their families at a substantially reduced cost; however, many adult day programs face the same difficulties in managing problem behavior as family members do, leading to premature termination of services. This article describes a multiyear project that integrated behavior analytic services into an adult day program for individuals with dementia and problematic behavior. A comprehensive practicum system was developed to provide assessment and treatment services that allowed consumers with problem behavior to remain successfully served in adult day programming while postponing out-of-home nursing home care.
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