Montessori Improved Cognitive Domains in Adults with Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Montessori materials were used in two adult day-care centers to slow cognitive decline in adults with Alzheimer's disease. Using a within-subject design, participants in one adult day care received three months of the Montessori materials, then standard intervention later. Participants were administered a battery of cognitive measures at baseline, three months, and six months. Favorable scores for the Montessori condition were significant with the subscales of the Ordinal Scale of Psychological Development-Modified (total, object permanence, means-ends), Dementia Rating Scale (total, attention, concept, memory), Parachek Geriatric Behavior Rating Scale (social behavior), and the Wechsler Memory Scale (digit forward). Montessori materials appeared instrumental in positively influencing basic cognitive abilities of attention, object permanence, and social behavior.

Prednosti metode Montessori pri obravnavi oseb z demenco

“…Pozitiven vpliv na osnovne kognitivne sposobnosti (pozornost, spomin) je bil dokazan tudi z raziskavo Vance in Porter (2000). V raziskavah pa ni bil dokazan vpliv na kompleksne kognitivne spretnosti, kot so besedišče, prostorska pozornost ter sklepanje in abstraktno mišljenje (Vance & Johns, 2002).…”

Traumatic brain injury and post-acute decline: what role does environmental enrichment play? A scoping review

“…A number of studies have examined the benefits of continuous exposure (Blackerby, 1990; Spivack et al, 1992; Willer et al, 1999; De Weerdt et al, 2000; Shiel et al, 2001; Zhu et al, 2001; Cifu et al, 2003; De Wit et al, 2005), and interventions that incorporate many elements of EE, such as cognitive, social, and physical stimulation (Hayslip et al, 1995; Neely and Backman, 1995; Fasotti et al, 2000; Powell et al, 2002; Vance and Johns, 2002; Gunther et al, 2003; Rath et al, 2003; Noice and Noice, 2004; Van De Winckel et al, 2004; Green et al, 2006; Stine-Morrow et al, 2007; Spikman et al, 2009). These types of interventions can be contrasted with interventions involving manipulations over a discrete period of time that are designed to enhance a specific cognitive domain or skill.…”

“…In an earlier framework, Toglia (1991) proposed a “multi-context” treatment approach to enhance generalizability that contained hallmarks of what later became EE: namely, varied stimulation and environments that are meaningful to the person that thereby enhance engagement. Interventions that have incorporated such components have demonstrated better generalizability, as well as improvements in community integration (Fasotti et al, 2000; Powell et al, 2002; Vance and Johns, 2002; Rath et al, 2003; Van De Winckel et al, 2004; Toglia et al, 2010; Leon-Carrion et al, 2012). …”

CNE Quiz

“…For example, a pre-post two-group design could be used to determine if PERAT is better than standard activity therapy in reducing agitation levels as well as increasing the amounts of time spent in activity and observable enjoyment from engaging in these activities. It can also be compared to other activity therapies, such as Montessori activity therapy (Vance & Johns, 2002; Vance & Porter, 2000), to determine its effectiveness.…”

“…Unfortunately, given the cognitive demands required to perform many activities, the older adult with Alzheimer’s disease experiences tremendous difficulty engaging in activities due to deficits in memory and attention skills. Furthermore, many activities targeting the older adult with Alzheimer’s disease seem childish and thus demeaning, especially in the early and middle stages of the disease (Vance & Johns, 2002). This difficulty of finding appropriate and meaningful activities remains a pervasive problem in providing care to the older adult.…”