Psychosocial interventions for community-dwelling people following diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia: findings of a systematic scoping review

National policies and evidence reviews recommend psychosocial interventions (PIs) as an essential support, particularly in the period following dementia diagnosis. However, availability and uptake of these interventions are comparatively low. One of the reasons for this is that clinicians lack information about what might be provided and the potential benefits of different interventions. This article identifies and describes PIs for community-dwelling people following diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia and presents the available evidence to inform practice decisions. A systematic scoping review was employed to map the evidence relating to PIs for this group. This identified 63 relevant studies, testing 69 interventions, which could be grouped into 6 intervention categories: 20 cognition-oriented, 11 behavior-oriented, 11 stimulation-oriented, 13 emotion-oriented, 5 social-oriented, and 9 multimodal. There were three targets for outcome measurement of these PIs: the person with dementia, the family caregiver, and the person–caregiver dyad. Over 154 outcome measures were identified in the studies, with outcomes measured across 11 main domains. The lack of a classification framework for PIs means it is difficult to create a meaningful synthesis of the breadth of relevant evidence to guide clinical practice. Possible dimensions of a classification framework are proposed to begin to address this gap

Obsessive-compulsive phenomena and symptoms in Asperger’s disorder and High-functioning Autism: An evaluative literature review

Although obsessional, ritualistic and stereotyped behaviors are a core feature of autistic disorders, substantial data related to those phenomena are lacking. Ritualistic and stereotyped behaviours can be found in almost all autistic patients. Additionally, cognitive able individuals with Asperger’s disorder (AD) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA: defined by the presence of IQ- levels > 70, Howlin, 2004, p. 6) mostly develop circumscribed, often called obsessional interests and preoccupations. Results from recent research indicate that autistic individuals frequently suffer from obsessions and compulsions according to DSM-IV criteria of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), being associated with marked distress and interference with daily life. OCD and autism share several similarities regarding symptom profiles and comorbidity. Etiologic overlap between the disorders becomes especially evident when focussing cognitive, neurobiological and genetic aspects.Autism-related obsessive- compulsive phenomena (AOCP) have generally to be differentiated from OCD-symptoms, although there is no sharp borderline

Evaluation of a TEACCH- and Music Therapy-based Psychological Intervention in Mild to Moderate Dementia: A Controlled Trial

Background: A multicomponent psychological intervention designed to alleviate neuropsychiatric symptoms and to improve communication in mild to moderate dementia was evaluated in a controlled trial. Components were (1) TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children)-based cognitive-behavioral and environmental interventions adapted for dementia and (2) music therapy. Methods: In a Pre-post design, the treatment group (n = 26) received the program for 6 months, whereas controls (n = 23) participated in nonspecific occupational therapy. Statistical analyses included t-tests, effect sizes, and two-way ANOVAs. Results: Relative to controls, the treatment group showed partly significant reductions of agitation, aggression, apathy, and anxiety, and improvement of communication, emotional expression, and activity. Conclusion: The intervention can help to increase psychological well-being in patients with dementia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Individual differences in cognitive representations of action influence the activation of goal concepts

Goal representations play a key role in various psychological processes, including behavioral regulation, self-perception and social understanding. Research on cognitive representations of action has identified individual differences in the general tendency to construe actions in terms of their goal (vs. movement parameters), which can be reliably assessed with the Behavior Identification Form (BIF). The aim of the present study was to examine how individual differences in action identification, as measured by the BIF, affect online processing of action in a laboratory study. The main results showed that the level of action identification predicted participants' performance in a task designed to implicitly assess people's automatic processing of action regarding goal features. We discussed the possible role of impaired goal processing in psychological dysfunctions