Module 5 Lesson 1. Introduction to behaviour changes So, what are we trying to do? We are trying to separate what comes before the behaviour and what the carer’s response is after the behaviour. How does Howard respond in this example? Howard gets frustrated because his wife Kayla forgot who came to visit and what she had for dinner. Howard can choose to change his response. 1. Check your understandingDifferent ways of responding to behaviour change. Here are some responses, some are good, others are not. Please check what you think could be good responses. Howard could: Work with Kayla to record significant family and social events in a family diary.Next time, remember that asking her such questions will only cause frustration, not only for him, but also for his wife.Remind himself that his wife has dementia and cannot help that she forgets things. She is not forgetting on purpose.Show his irritation by saying: “I already answered that, please stop bothering me”.Take a deep breath.Show that he is frustrated.Check Different ways of responding to behaviour change. Work with Kayla to record significant family and social events in a family diary. This is a good response , because they can revisit the events from time to time if Kayla is missing family members and friends. Next time, remember that asking her such questions will only cause frustration, not only for him, but also for his wife. This is a good response , because it may prevent this frustrating situation. Remind himself that his wife has dementia and cannot help that she forgets things. She is not forgetting on purpose. This is a good response, because Howard recognises that Kayla is living with dementia. Show his irritation by saying: “I already answered that, please stop bothering me”. This reaction is not so good, because Howard’s irritability may upset Kayla even more. Take a deep breath. This is a good response. It shows that Howard is trying to control his frustration. Show that he is frustrated. This is not the best response. Showing that he is frustrated is an inappropriate way to deal with the stressful behaviour, it may even make the person living with dementia irritable. Error: Please select at least one option.Please click ‘check’ to view the answers before continuing.Error: Please type your answers in the text box.