Getting in and out of bed, showering or bathing, and feeding ourselves are examples of basic activities we engage in within our day-to-day lives. But for some people living with dementia, impairments to cognitive abilities—such as recall, attention, and planning—can make it difficult to independently complete these activities (1). From diminished confidence to increased burden, decreases in function hold implications for the person living with dementia and their caregiver (1;2). Considering that over 733,000 people currently live with dementia in Canada and every hour 15 more develop it, let’s turn our focus to supports that aim to tackle the issue of managing daily activities (3).
Cognitive rehabilitation is one such support (1). This tailored strategy is a collaborative effort between people living with dementia, caregivers, and cognitive rehabilitation practitioners. The first step in the process involves determining what daily activities the person living with dementia wants to enhance. The second step involves a practitioner developing a plan for successfully meeting these goals. The third step is implementing the plan; this generally occurs in the person’s home and is delivered by a practitioner in a one-on-one format. Caregivers can be integrated throughout the process as needed (1;4).
The question then becomes: is cognitive rehabilitation effective in helping people perform daily tasks that are important to them? For answers, let’s turn to a recent systematic review focusing on people living with mild‐to‐moderate dementia (1).
What the research tells us
Overall, there’s good news! The review found that cognitive rehabilitation can improve everyday functioning (measured through attaining one's goals) in people living with mild‐to‐moderate dementia compared to usual care. These improvements are large and can be seen immediately following cognitive rehabilitation, as well as up to 3 to 12 months after. More research is needed to help provide us with more certainty in the results and to better understand how to best implement cognitive rehabilitation (1).
If you live with dementia or are caring for someone who does, be sure to take stock of any difficulties completing everyday activities independently and consult your healthcare team. Together, you can determine if cognitive rehabilitation is available as a treatment option and whether it would make a positive addition to the treatment plan.
