Managing Challenging Behaviors with Cognitive Decline (Part 2)
This video is part of a caregiver education series presented by Catherine McDermott, PMHNP, and hosted by Town Square University Parkway. This session focuses on helping caregivers better understand why challenging behaviors occur throughout the progression of dementia and cognitive decline while providing practical, compassionate strategies to improve daily caregiving experiences.
As cognitive decline progresses, changes within the brain impact memory, reasoning, emotional regulation, communication, and perception. This presentation explores how fear, confusion, overstimulation, pain, unmet needs, and environmental triggers can contribute to behavioral changes. Caregivers will gain a deeper understanding that these behaviors are not intentional actions, but symptoms of neurological changes occurring within the brain.
The session discusses common challenging behaviors often experienced in dementia care, including agitation, restlessness, repetitive questions or actions, resistance to care, wandering, emotional outbursts, suspicion, and paranoia. Participants will learn how these behaviors are often expressions of distress, fear, or confusion.
This caregiver education video also highlights effective communication approaches such as speaking slowly and calmly, using simple and direct language, offering reassurance instead of correction, validating emotions, and using supportive nonverbal communication techniques.
Additional topics include practical caregiver strategies designed to reduce stress and improve quality of life for both caregivers and individuals living with dementia. Strategies discussed include reducing environmental triggers, maintaining predictable routines, supporting autonomy through choices, redirecting instead of confronting behaviors, and identifying underlying causes such as pain, hunger, boredom, or fear.
This educational dementia care resource is designed to help caregivers approach challenging behaviors with greater empathy, patience, confidence, and understanding while supporting dignity, safety, and emotional comfort throughout the caregiving journey.