Abstract
Alzheimer disease affects memory, thinking, language and communication, and also social life of people who are living with dementia and their family caregivers. The change of a social role to a dependent role and the inability to recall memories or events can cause a person to experience a reduced confidence or to have doubts about his or her identity especially when symptoms become more severe.
In our Day Hospital for seniors with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) we focus on complex care and activation program for seniors with ADRD. Our daily programme consists of kinesiotherapy, relaxation, occupational therapy, cognitive stimulation, reminiscence therapy, music therapy and social skills training.
With regard to the fact that in patient with ADRD, the capacity to experience the full range of emotions and social habits persists for a long time, we consider activation and training in the field of social skills as important aspect of our non-pharmacological intervention in people with dementia. Our objective is to use the methods of social skill training to help patients of the Day Hospital to maintain or even develop their social skills, thus diminishing their feelings of loneliness.
This is achieved by improving connection and communication between members of the Day Hospital, strengthening relationships and by increasing self-esteem. Social skills training has been trialed as a psychosocial intervention aimed at reducing isolation,depression, behavioral disturbance and improving quality of life for older people with dementia.
In addition we organise seminars for care givers that help them to understand their family members. This paper outlines the rationale behind development of our social skills training programme, what it entails and possible ways to evaluate its impact.
We also suggest various techniques that could be used to help patients to maintain their social skills and develop their relationships