For those inspired by the recent presentation and workshops of Dr Cameron Camp at the The 17th Alzheimer’s Australia Biennial National Dementia Conference or simply if you want to find out more about the use of the Montessori method for engagement with people with dementia read on.
Video – Purposeful Activities for Dementia
Purposeful activities for dementia complements other professional development resources about engaging people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, including the downloadable Relate Motivate Appreciate toolkit. Purposeful activities for dementia was developed for families and aged care staff.
This resource has been created for anyone interested in providing people with dementia a range of interesting, encouraging and enriching activities: aged care staff, family carers, activity support workers, personal care attendants in residential and community settings, and people with dementia who want a resource to advocate for purposeful activities. Visit web page
The video is divided into six chapters. Each chapter addresses key messages and provides points for reflection. You can watch the entire video, or each individual chapter below.
- Entire Video (Chapters 1-6)
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Other healthcare professional development resources
Recent evaluation of Montessori approaches
Assessment of capabilities in persons with advanced stage of dementia: Validation of The Montessori Assessment System (MAS)
Jérôme Erkes, Cameron J Camp, Stéphane Raffard, Marie-ChristineGély-Nargeot and, Sophie Bayard in Dementia First Published September 21, 2017
This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Montessori Assessment System. The Montessori Assessment System assesses preserved abilities in persons with moderate to severe dementia. In this respect, this instrument provides crucial information for the development of effective person-centered care plans. A total of 196 persons with a diagnosis of dementia in the moderate to severe stages of dementia were recruited in 10 long-term care facilities in France. All participants completed the Montessori Assessment System, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale and/or the Mini Mental State Examination and the Severe Impairment Battery-short form. The internal consistency and temporal stability of the Montessori Assessment System were high. Additionally, good construct and divergent validity were demonstrated. Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. The Montessori Assessment System demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties while being a useful instrument to assess capabilities in persons with advanced stages of dementia and hence to develop person-centered plans of care. Abstract
Montessori-based activities among persons with late-stage dementia: Evaluation of mental and behavioral health outcomes
Scott E Wilks, P August Boyd, Samantha M Bates, Daphne S Cain, Jennifer R Geiger in Dementia First Published April 27, 2017
Literature regarding Montessori-based activities with older adults with dementia is fairly common with early stages of dementia. Conversely, research on said activities with individuals experiencing late-stage dementia is limited because of logistical difficulties in sampling and data collection. Given the need to understand risks and benefits of treatments for individuals with late-stage dementia, specifically regarding their mental and behavioral health, this study sought to evaluate the effects of a Montessori-based activity program implemented in a long-term care facility. Abstract
Implementing Montessori Methods for Dementia: A Scoping Review
Sander L Hitzig, Christine L Sheppard in The Gerontologist, Volume 57, Issue 5, 1 October 2017, Pages e94–e114,
A review was conducted to develop an understanding of Montessori-based programing (MBP) approaches used in dementia care and to identify optimal ways to implement these programs across various settings. Abstract
“Effects of Sustained, Coordinated Activities Programming in Long-Term Care: The Memory in Rhythm® Program”
Iva De Witt-Hoblit, Mary Neal Miller, Cameron J. Camp, in Advances in Aging Research, Vol.5 No.1, 2016
An account of the creation and pilot testing of a sustained, coordinated activities program, Memory in Rhythm®(MIR), which incorporated Montessori-Based Dementia Programming™, in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Effects of implementing MIR then were examined in memory care units in 16 aged care centers—9 SNFs and 7 assisted living residences in Ohio. For these centers, all data were collected over a period of one year before and one year after implementation of MIR. Results indicate that implementation of MIR was associated with reductions in medication use, increased census, decreased employee turnover, decreased wandering and agitation, and increased sleeping at night, eating and capacity for activities of daily living. Read online
Implementing Montessori Methods for Dementia™ in Ontario long-term care homes: Recreation staff and multidisciplinary consultants’ perceptions of policy and practice issues
Kate Ducak, Margaret DentonGail Elliot in Dementia First Published January 8, 2016
Montessori-based activities use a person-centred approach to benefit persons living with dementia by increasing their participation in, and enjoyment of, daily life. This study investigated recreation staff and multidisciplinary consultants’ perceptions of factors that affected implementing Montessori Methods for Dementia™ in long-term care homes in Ontario, Canada. Qualitative data were obtained during semi-structured telephone interviews with 17 participants who worked in these homes. A political economy of aging perspective guided thematic data analysis. Barriers such as insufficient funding and negative attitudes towards activities reinforced a task-oriented biomedical model of care. Various forms of support and understanding helped put Montessori Methods for Dementia™ into practice as a person-centred care program, thus reportedly improving the quality of life of residents living with dementia, staff and family members. These results demonstrate that when Montessori Methods for Dementia™ approaches are learned and understood by staff they can be used as practical interventions for long-term care residents living with dementia. Abstract
Alive Inside is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the country who have been revitalized and awakened by the simple act of listening to the music of their youth.
When Marie Williams’ husband Dominic started buying banana Paddle Pops by the boxful it was out of character for a man who was fit and health conscious. Dominic, Marie and their two sons had migrated to Australia to have a life where they shared more family time — when gradually Dominic’s behaviour became more and more unpredictable. It took nearly four years before there was a diagnosis of early onset dementia coupled with motor neurone disease. Marie began to write, as she says, as a refuge from the chaos and as a way to make sense of her changing world.
In 2011, music legend Glen Campbell set out on an unprecedented tour across America. He thought it would last 5 weeks; instead it went for 151 spectacular sold out shows over a triumphant year and a half. What made this tour extraordinary was that Glen had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He was told to hang up his guitar and prepare for the inevitable. Instead, Glen and his wife went public with his diagnosis and announced that he and his family would set out on a ‘Goodbye Tour.’ The film documents this extraordinary journey as he and his family attempt to navigate the wildly unpredictable nature of Glen’s progressing disease using love, laughter and music as their medicine of choice.
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow forgetful, she dismisses it for as long as she can, but when she gets lost in her own neighbourhood she knows that something has gone terribly wrong.
An approach to caring with calm, centered presence; responding with compassion; and maintaining authentic communication, even in the absence of words. Most importantly, discover ways to manage the grief, anger, depression, and other emotions often associated with dementia care.
Information on diagnostic evaluation; resources for families who care for people with dementia; legal and financial information; information on nursing homes and other communal living arrangements; research, medications, and the biological causes and effects of dementia.
Kate Swaffer was just 49 years old when she was diagnosed with a form of younger onset dementia. In this book, she offers an all-too-rare first-hand insight into that experience, sounding a clarion call for change in how we ensure a better quality of life for people with dementia. Kate describes vividly her experiences of living with dementia, exploring the effects of memory difficulties, loss of independence, leaving long-term employment, the impact on her teenage sons, and the enormous impact of the dementia diagnosis on her sense of self.
Offers approaches to understand and cope with the emotional strain of care-giving. Boss’s book builds on research and clinical experience, yet the material is presented as a conversation. She shows you a way to embrace rather than resist the ambiguity in your relationship with someone who has dementia.
Book: You say goodbye and we say hello : the Montessori method for positive dementia care by Tom and Karen Brenner, ©2012
Report: Evaluation of Montessori principles in planned activity groups for people with dementia, Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, La Trobe University, 2015
Article: Montessori programming for persons with dementia in the group setting:an analysis of engagement and affect by Shannon E Jarrott, Tsofit Gozali & Christina M Gigliotti, Dementia, Vol. 7, no. 1 February 2008, p. 109-125
