Validation Vs. Orientation Therapy And Why Some Senior Residents Need One Or The Other
When it comes to senior care, nursing staff and nursing assistants are taught about orientation therapy and validation therapy. Both of these types of therapy are used with senior and elderly residents who have mild to extreme forms of dementia, except that certain types of dementia are only treated with validation therapy. Here are the differences between these two forms of therapy for older adults and why they may need one type over the other.
Orientation Therapy
Orientation therapy is used with residents who have mild to moderate, non-Alzheimer's dementia. Because these adults are not getting up at the same time every day, getting ready for work, and going to a job five days a week, they begin to lose track of time and place as part of their form of dementia. Orienting them to day, time, date, and expected or scheduled activities helps decrease their confusion and their frustration with what is going on around them. It helps them feel more secure in their surroundings, too, especially if they have just moved into a nursing home or assisted living facility and they are not familiar with their new living arrangements.
Validation Therapy
Validation therapy validates what people with Alzheimer's are saying. When these residents have trouble communicating their thoughts, or they are thinking and believing that something from the past is part of the present, you have to validate what they say instead of correcting them. Correcting them leads to greater frustration and confusion, which leads to acting out and aggression that can cause injury to them and to anyone caring for them. The focus is on helping them remember things without making them realize that they are wrong about when it happened or is happening. It also encourages residents with Alzheimer's to remain vocal, something that they will gradually lose over time with the progression of the disease.
Validation Therapy ONLY with Alzheimer's Residents
In most assisted living and nursing homes, there is a separate wing for residents with Alzheimer's. These residents spend their time recollecting things and believing that these things just happened. They become distressed if you tell them what day and date it really is, and that tends to be bad for their emotional and psychological well-being. Hence, validation therapy is the only allowed form of therapy on these particular wings. Nurses are free to use orientation therapy with all of the other residents on all of the other wings in the building.
For more information about treatment and therapy options that might help your loved one, contact local senior care services.
