Upcoming Dementia Talk: Understanding Behaviours of Concern

Support for people with dementia | mate wareware, care partners and whānau.

Why might a person living with dementia | mate wareware become angry or distressed, refuse support, repeatedly ask the same question, pace around a room or insist they need to go home?

Changes in behaviour can be a form of communication. A person may be frightened, confused, frustrated, uncomfortable or trying to express a need they can no longer easily explain.

Understanding what may be behind the behaviour can help us respond in ways that reduce distress, protect the person’s dignity and make the situation easier for everyone involved.

Join Winifred Henderson, Senior Educator at Dementia New Zealand, for a practical two-hour Dementia Talk exploring why changes in behaviour can occur and how care partners, whānau and health professionals can respond.

What the session will cover

You’ll learn about:

• How changes in the brain can affect behaviour, emotions and communication
• Why a person’s behaviour may be communicating fear, discomfort, confusion or an unmet need
• Changes such as agitation, aggression, pacing, repeated questioning, accusations, calling out and resistance to care
• The term Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia, often shortened to BPSD
• Ways to look for possible causes and triggers
• Practical approaches including validation, redirection, distraction and de-escalation
• Steps that may help prevent distress from increasing
• Ways to respond while maintaining the person’s dignity and reducing stress for those supporting them

Winifred will use practical examples to help you consider what the person may be experiencing, what they may be trying to communicate and how your response could affect what happens next.

The session is designed to give you practical ideas you can use at home, in the community or in your workplace.

Who should attend?

This Dementia Talk is suitable for:

• Care partners and whānau
• Friends and volunteers
• Health and care professionals
• Anyone wanting to better understand changes in behaviour associated with dementia

For international registrations (outside of New Zealand), please email events@dementia.nz.