Block Nine Flashcards
Dementia and Alzheimer's
Confusion
The inability to think clearly
Delirium
A state of severe confusion that occurs suddenly and is usually temporary.
Cognition
The ability to think logically and clearly.
Cognitive Impairment
Loss of ability to think logically; concentration and memory are affected.
Dementia
The serious loss of mental abilities, such as thinking, remembering, reasoning, and communicating.
Alzheimer’s Disease
A progressive, incurable disease that causes tangled nerve fibers and protein deposits to form in the brain, eventually causing dementia.
Perseveration
The repetition of words, phrases, questions, or actions.
Agitation
The state of being excited, restless, or trouble.
Sundowning
Becoming restless and agitated in the late afternoon, evening, or night.
Catastrophic Reaction
Reacting to something in an unreasonable, exaggerated way.
Triggers
Something that sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma.
Pacing
Walking back and forth in the same area.
Wandering
Walking aimlessly around the facility or facility grounds.
Hallucination
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that are not there.
Delusion
False ideas or beliefs, especially about oneself.
De-escalation
Refers to behavior that is intended to escape escalations of conflicts. It may also refer to approaches in conflict resolution.
Redirection
The action of assigning or directing something to a new or different place or purpose - used with patients with dementia.
Stress
The state of being frightened, excited, confused, in danger, or irritated.
Validation Therapy
A technique used for interacting with people with dementia in which the caregiver acknowledges the person’s reality, rather than correcting the person.
