Group activities with the cognitively impaired: A positive outlook on the difficult patient

Abstract

Melabev runs five clubs for Jerusalem's elderly suffering from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. In any group for the cognitively impaired, there is usually at least one member the staff considers difficult. The difficult program participant needs more supervision, attention, or care than the rest of the group. For example, there's the patient who wanders, the one who repeatedly asks what time it is, the one who sleeps all the time and falls from the chair This paper suggests a positive way for staff to look at these patients so that they can cope more effectively with the behaviors and participate comfortably in group activities.