A. Mcpherson et al., Effects of individualized memory aids on the conversation of persons with severe dementia: a pilot study, AGING MENT, 5(3), 2001, pp. 289-294
Bourgeois has shown that use of simple memory aids enhances the quality of
conversation of persons with moderate Alzheimer-type dementia. We replicate
d Bourgeois' intervention with five people with severe dementia (Mini-Menta
l State Examination scores 0-4) and diagnoses of Alzheimer-type or vascular
dementia, and evaluated the impact of the aids on the proportion of time p
articipants spent on topic in conversation with carers. For three participa
nts, use of the memory aid did not increase the proportion of time-spent on
-topic. The remaining two participants, however, spent approximately twice
as much time on-topic when using the aid as when conversing without it. Our
results extend Bourgeois' work by showing that memory aids are helpful to
some people with severe dementia.