A.I.D., Activities and Interventions for Dementia and MR/DD P. O. Box 1363 Medina, Ohio 44258 Telephone: 330-723-8838 www.dementia-help.com 4aid@dementia-help.com Email Us

A.I.D., Activities and Interventions for Dementia and MR/DD is an Ohio based company, founded in 1997, that specializes in the cognitive issues that surround people with brain damage and related cognitive impairments. This includes the difficulties experienced by older adults with varying types of dementia, as well as the cognitive issues that affect aging individuals with mental retardation and dementia. Today, we know that virtually everyone with Down Syndrome will manifest the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease if they live long enough, and because of the de-institutionalization process in the 1970s, people with MR/DD are finally living long enough to reach old age. A.I.D. also addresses other cognitive and behavioral issues that affect people of all ages with MR/DD. A.I.D. employees and contractors are experienced experts in Cognitive Psychology, Special Education, and Recreational Therapy.

A.I.D. offers four main types of services:

• Training Workshops for lay and professional caregivers of people of all ages with varying levels of cognitive impairments (email us for current 2008 list of workshops)
  
  
• Activity Development to engage people with all degrees of cognitive impairment from those with mild impairments to those with profound limitations
  
  
• Specialized, Individualized Consulting for the assessment, evaluation, and treatment of unique behavior problems or for placement decisions
  
  
• Ohio Department of MR/DD Certification Classes for County Board Employees
  

A.I.D. Consultants in Cognitive Psychology specialize in those hypothetical and often difficult to articulate behaviors of the brain. This includes the topics of memory, learning, attention, reasoning, problem solving, intelligence, as well as those accompanying pathologies that can damage the brain and create learning difficulties, such as Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Epilepsy/Seizures, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. The field also includes an expertise about the many forms of Dementia - those that are completely curable and often misdiagnosed as early stage Alzheimer’s Disease, such as Depression or Delirium; those that are very treatable, such as Dementia due to Stroke or Parkinson’s Disease; and those that are only manageable, for example Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common cause of Dementia. For information about our training manual entitled: Engaging Activities In Long-Term Care: Quality of Life for People in all Stages of Probable Alzheimer’s Disease, send us an email. Click here to see table of contents and to print order form.

Activities have been developed and copyrighted for use with those in the mild to moderate stages of Alzheimer's diseases. Based on familiar concepts, these activities have been shown to engage the patient in a meaningful activity that is personally relevant, promote rebuilding of the internal structure of semantic memory, and provide stimulation and opportunities for social interaction. Activities are available in many topics. View a short video demonstration. For more information, or ordering, please send us an email.

A.I.D. Consultants in Recreational Therapy and Special Education specialize in the development of Therapeutic Activities for individuals with cognitive impairments. Traditionally, Activity Development for individuals with mild or moderate MR/DD has not been difficult to orchestrate because the intellectual deficits of these individuals are not severe and these people benefit from a modified program of activities that all people enjoy. On the other hand, people with more severe or profound brain damage due to Mental Retardation or Dementia have always presented problems for caregivers because it is difficult to find activities that provide them with engagement. It is for these more severely/profoundly handicapped individuals where A.I.D. specialists excel by the development of Multi-Sensory Activities.

How do Multi-Sensory Activities work? We know that all information gets into the brain through the senses – our eyes, ears, mouth, nose and by touch. Receptor cells, if functioning properly, pick up the physical stimulation in the environment and translate it into electrical impulses that travel via the peripheral nervous system to the brain for processing, allowing learning and perception to occur. People with more severe/profound cognitive handicaps often have damage in these receptor cells, hence, for these individuals, it is difficult for normal stimulation to reach the brain, and so the person is left with a very limited ability to learn.

The rationale behind the effectiveness of Multi-Sensory Activities is that they provide the individual with very rich sensory experiences (visual stimulation in the form of bright or colored lights, auditory stimulation that can be soothing sounds or types of music, olfactory information that can be therapeutic aromas, or things to touch that vary in textures). It is the richness of these sensory experiences that increase the likelihood that multi-sensory stimulating information from the environment will reach the brain. Once information can get into the brain of these severely impaired people, opportunities for learning can occur. (For more information please send us an email.)

A.I.D. Training Programs and Workshops have been constructed in a format that can be understood by people with all levels of experience and education. We address the many cognitive issues and problems seen in people of all ages who have cognitive handicaps. Our specialists have years of education and experience in all facets of Applied Cognitive Aging, Special Education, Gerontology and Recreational Therapy. In addition to a diverse agenda of training programs, private consultants are also available to address all types of learning issues, behavior difficulties, activity development, sensory stimulation, complimentary therapies, and cognitive problems. A.I.D. Recreational Therapists specialize in the training, development, and implementation of Multi-Sensory Activities and/or Environments, and other Complimentary Therapies, such as Reiki, Reflexology, Color Therapy, Animal Therapy, and Aromatherapy for people with severe/profound cognitive impairments.

A.I.D. Workshops address a variety of topics for training of lay and professional caregivers at nursing homes, schools, and facilities that provide residential and employment services to people with any types of cognitive impairment. (Email us for a schedule of 2008 workshops): Topics include but are not limited to:

• Recognition of the many types of Dementia – ruling out those that are curable from those that are treatable, and recognizing those that are only manageable, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
  
  
• Understand Dementia in people with Mental Retardation
  
  
• Recognize early symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease in Down Syndrome
  
  
• Management issues in Alzheimer’s Disease and Down Syndrome
  
  
• Recognition of Non-Convulsive Partial Seizures
  
  
• Behavior Support for people with MR/DD of all ages
  
  
• Behavior Management using Implicit Memory for people with Alzheimer’s Disease
  
  
• Behavior Management for people with Alzheimer’s Disease who have Repetitive Questioning, Inappropriate Sexual Behavior, Disruptive Vocalizations, and Aggression
  
  
• Effective Communication Techniques to use with people with Alzheimer’s Disease
  
  
• Activity Development for people with severe/profound forms of MR/DD
  
  
• Activity Development for older adults in the later stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
  
  
• Complimentary Therapies (i.e., Reiki, Aromatherapy, Color Therapy, Animal Therapy, Reflexology)
  
  
• Assistive technology for people with MR/DD and dementia, such as motion sensors, switches, voice operated communication devices and picture cards.
  
  
• Benefit Analysis: Understand Social Security and Medicaid

For more information please contact us at the following:
 
A.I.D., Activities and Interventions for Dementia and MR/DD
P. O. Box 1363
Medina, Ohio 44258
Telephone: 330-723-8838
www.dementia-help.com
4aid@dementia-help.com
Email Us

© A.I.D. 2005/2006/2007