Excerpted from The Comfort of Home for Alzheimer’sTM
By Maria M. Meyer, Mary S. Mittelman, Cynthia Epstein, and Paula Derr, Contributing writers
A person with Alzheimer’s disease may sometimes act in ways that are upsetting or seem aggressive. He or she may hit, scratch, or fight with the caregiver. This does not always happen. But if it does, it is likely to be when the person is in the middle stage of Alzheimer’s disease. This stage can last for up to four years.
These actions can be upsetting and are often hard for caregivers to manage. It helps to have a plan. One that many people find easy to remember is called ABC. Here is what this means:
- A means Antecedent. This refers to events that happen just before an upsetting action.
- B is the Behavior. This means any upsetting or aggressive action done by the person who has Alzheimer’s disease.
- C refers to the Consequence. This includes events that happen after the behavior.
Sometimes, these events can make the situation worse.
Here is a story about people we are calling Mary and Robert Jones. In this story, Mary is the caregiver for her husband, Robert, who has Alzheimer’s disease. As you will see, in this story many things go wrong.
Home care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Home Care in Naperville.
