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Mary A. Corcoran, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Editor

In three lessons, review the occupational performance issues associated with primary degenerative dementia, link symptoms and behaviors with neurophysiological changes, and current evidence related to occupational therapy. Learn to differentiate reversible from irreversible dementia, and gain a deeper understanding of the caregiver role.

Highlights

• Components of a comprehensive functional evaluation for clients with dementia
• Symptoms and progression of dementia
• Client factors in mental function, mobility, process skills, and communication in initial dementia
• Client factors, performance skills and patterns, and contextual factors that affect occupational performance for clients with advanced dementia
• Focus and characteristics of therapeutic interventions

Lessons

• Neurorehabilitation of the Client With Primary Degenerative Dementia: Introduction to Dementia
• Occupational Therapy for Clients in the Initial Stages of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia
• Occupational Therapy for Clients in the Advanced Stages of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia

Core SPCC is highly recommended as a prerequisite for all Diagnosis-Specific SPCCs.

Learning Objectives
After reading this material and completing the examination, readers will be able to

• Differentiate reversible and irreversible dementia;
• Recognize the symptoms and progression of several major types of dementia;
• Identify the focus and characteristics of therapeutic interventions for dementia;
• Identify how the concept of excess disability applies to dementia; and
• Identify the components of a comprehensive functional evaluation for clients with dementia.

Important Note: As of March 1, 2009, the registration process for the Colorado State University (CSU) Nondegree Graduate Credit will change. Click here for details.

Series Senior Editor Bio
Gordon Muir Giles, PhD, DipCOT, OTR/L, FAOTA, received a graduate diploma from St. Andrew's School of Occupational Therapy and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. He was senior occupational therapist at the first program in the world specializing in the treatment of people with behavior disorders and brain injury. He has opened and directed specialized acute medical hospitals, long-term care, behavioral management, and outpatient programs for people with neurobehavioral impairments. He was responsible for opening the first county-funded neurobehavioral program for people with acquired neurological impairments in the western United States in 1993.

Dr. Giles introduced the "neurofunctional approach" in 1993 and recently has been developing nonaversive approaches to rehabilitation of people with neurological impairments. He is an internationally known researcher and has authored numerous publications, including three books, on practical approaches to treating people with acquired neurological impairments. He currently is responsible for a 65-bed neurobehavioral program in Fremont, CA, and a 120-bed medical/psychiatry program in Sunnyvale, CA. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he is associate professor at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA.

Author Bios
Mary A. Corcoran, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is research professor in the Department of Health Care Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and professor in the Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University. She has degrees in occupational therapy, social gerontology, and health planning for the elderly population. She has a long history as an author, researcher, and educator, having published and presented widely on topics such as environmental modifications, management of Alzheimer's disease, family caregiving, and collaboration. Corcoran has served as principal or co-principal investigator on several projects funded by the National Institute on Aging. Her experience includes use of qualitative and quantitative, as well as mixed-method, approaches. She is editor of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Kathleeen T. Foley, MS, OTR, is adjunct faculty member to the Department of Occupational Therapy at Indiana University-Indianapolis and staff therapist at Bloomington Hospital. Specializing in brain injury, she has more than 17 years of experience in adult rehabilitation. Her practice and future research interests include low vision, dysphagia, mobility systems/driving advisement, and professional education. Foley received a BS in occupational therapy from Quinnipiac University and an MS in instructional systems technology from Indiana University-Bloomington. She is a member of Pi Lambda Theta Honor Society and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and is president-elect form the Indianan Occupational Therapy Association. She currently is working on her dissertation to complete the requirements for a PhD in higher education from Indiana University.

Erin R. Foster, OTD, is a postdoctoral fellow and principal investigator in the Movement Disorders Clinic and NeuroImaging Laboratories at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her postdoctoral training focuses on the cognitive performance issues of people with Parkinson's disease and related dementias, and her research interests concern the link between neural substrates/brain pathology and everyday performance and participation. She has studied and presented on a variety of neurological disorders and aging issues, served as research and teaching assistant form 2002 to 2005, and is a member of Pi Theta Epsilon. She completed her undergraduate and graduate training at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

M. Tracy Morrison, OTD, OTR/L, is a faculty member and clinical scientist in the occupational therapy program at Washington University of Medicine in St. Louis. She was a James S. McDonnell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow from 2003 to 2005. Her postdoctoral training focused on neuroimaging and neuro-recovery following brain injury. Prior to her fellowship, she was a research associate in the Cognitive Neuroscience Neuroimaging Laboratory at Washington University, where she studied the neuropathology associated with Alzheimer's disease. Currently, she is the principal investigator over the Neuroperformance Laboratory in the Program in Occupational Therapy at Washington University; her research focuses on the links among brain, behavior, performance, and participation. In addition, she serves on several university committees and has received numerous awards for scholarship.

Dory Sabata, OTD, OTR/L, recently joined the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Workplace Accommodations at the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access, Georgia Institute of Technology. At the University of Southern California-Los Angeles, she was involved in research and training on aging in place and the role of home modifications in fall prevention. Sabata earned her occupational therapy doctorate in 2002 from Washington University in St. Louis and has an undergraduate degree in gerontology and psychology from Southwest Missouri State University. She has been a direct service provider for older adults and people with developmental disabilities. Sabata presents at national and international conferences and has authored chapters and articles; her research interests include environmental modifications, aging in place, cognition, and caregiving issues. She currently is the home modifications network manager for AOTA and serves on the AOTA Specialties Board Environmental Modification Specialty Certification Panel.

Jennifer Marie Savre, OTD, is a recent doctoral graduate from the occupational therapy program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where her doctoral work focused on productive aging. Her undergraduate study was at Montana State University in Bozeman in the Department of Health and Human Development with a focus on exercise physiology. She has received several awards, is a member of Pi Theta Epsilon, and has presented on stroke and other aging issues. She was a research assistant, doctoral student researcher, and principal investigator from 2002 to 2005.

Patricia Schaber, PhD, OTR/L, is assistant professor in the Program in Occupational Therapy at the University of Minnesota. She holds a doctorate in family social science and a doctoral minor in gerontology with a focus in gerontological research. She was employed for 13 years in geriatric occupational therapy in long-term care, home health care, and activities programming. She completed a Bush fellowship for excellence in teaching and learning and a Minnesota Area Geriatric Education Center fellowship and has participated in the Consortium for Chronic Care with the Center on Aging at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests combine occupational therapy practice models with family theory in the development of family-centered approaches to care with the elderly population.

Martin Rice, PhD, OTR/L, contributor to the SPCC, is associate professor at the Medical University of Ohio. He has a D.Phil in motor learning and control from The Pennsylvania State University, an MS in occupational therapy from the Western Michigan University, and a BS in rehabilitation education from The Pennsylvania State University. His clinical experience includes adult rehabilitation in rehabilitation hospitals, long-term care facilities, and outpatient rehabilitation facilities. Although he has worked with a wide variety of patient populations, most of his clinical experience involved clients with stroke and head injuries. His interests are in working with assistive technology to improve function and independence and in investigating motor learning and motor control strategies that promote enhanced learning and efficient movement performance with respect to therapeutic occupation.

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