1. Educational Benefits On Communication Behaviors In Persons With Dementia Kristi Morris-Johnson, B.A.S., Bobby Jo Mineheine, B.A.S., and Mark Mizuko, Ph.D, CCC-SLP Robert F. Pierce Speech-Language Hearing Clinic, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Minnesota Duluth Research Question Does teaching caregivers various behavioral techniques increase communication interactions by residents with dementia? Introduction According to the National Center for Health Statistics (1985), 50 percent of nursing home residents have dementia. Persons with dementia often exhibit confusion, anxiety and agitation behaviors making it necessary to train caregivers to manage these behaviors. While many staff training programs for this purpose are currently in use, there is a lack of empirical evidence and efficacy data to support their use. Methods An A-B multiple baseline design across interactions was used in this investigation. In a design of this nature, a number of independent interactions are selected and measured in phase A. In phase B, the selected treatment is applied to one interaction, while baseline is maintained for the other interaction. Two caregivers and two residents participated in two organized, training sessions for approximately 1.5 hours each. Each session had a basis of training activities to facilitate communication interaction. The specific behaviors that training focused on were: * Touch* Tone of Voice * Eye contact* Matching emotion * Centering* Using vague language * Rephrasing* Making eye contact at eye level The investigators measured the following verbal behaviors: communicative intent, appropriateness of conversation, and topic maintenance. These data were analyzed by calculating the frequency of each behavior. Summary The results of this investigation provided information regarding the effects of training caregivers to improve communication interactions with residents with dementia. Based on visual review of Figures 1 and 3, the training appears to be effective in facilitating eye contact. Interaction XY demonstrates a significant increase in the frequency of both the caregiver and resident eye contact after the training session. Interaction WZ demonstrates an increase in the frequency of both the caregiver and the resident eye contact after the training session. However, results of the second interaction baseline indicate that the increase may not be attributed to the effects of training. The significance of interaction WZ is that the caregiver had previous education prior to the training session which contributes to the overall results. Also, in the initial interaction, the resident was in a semi-awake state which contributes to the overall results. The frequency of appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication increased after training. Results of interaction XY indicate that when appropriate training is provided, interactions with individuals with dementia can be a positive experience.. Results Subjects’ description: Caregiver-Certified nursing assistant, female, 24 years old. Resident-Female, severe dementia, 88 years old. Interaction XYInteraction WZ Subjects’ description: Caregiver-Social Worker, female, 46 years old. Resident-Female, moderate dementia, 93 years old. Figure 1: The frequency of eye contact during interactions and baselines, before and after the training session. The baseline frequency decreased which demonstrates that either there was no carryover from the training session or there was general lack of interest in the activity. Figure 2: The frequency of Dore’s pragmatic categories of the resident before and after the training session. An increase in the amount of answering after the training session was seen, as the level of nonverbal communication increased. Figure 3: The frequency of eye contact during interactions and baselines, before and after the training session. The baseline frequency increased which may be due to the degree of wakefulness of the resident or the previous educational experience of the caregiver. Figure 4: The frequency of Dore’s pragmatic categories of the resident before and after the training session. An increase in the amount of answering after the training session was seen, as the level of nonverbal communication increased.