Dementia in the Elderly – What Their Behavior Tells Us

Speaker

Shelley Wagner RN-BC has over 30 years of psychiatric nursing experience in a variety of settings including inpatient, outpatient and community, public health, and case management. Her areas of expertise include development and implementation of behavior management strategies and helping caregivers understand mental illness and dementia. Shelley travels throughout the state of Minnesota and western Wisconsin offering education and support to those caring for persons with dementia and mental illness.

Objectives

• Define dementia, types of dementia (i.e. – Alzheimer’s), and symptoms
• Explain why all behavior has meaning
• Discuss approaches for understanding and communicating with behaviors related to ADLS and dementia
• List specific challenging behaviors that may occur during ADLS
• List possible causes for behavioral symptoms related to ADLS and how to implement behavior management strategies