Enhancing caregivers understanding of dementia and tailoring activities in frontotemporal dementia: Two case studies

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the intervention process and results of the Tailored Activities Program (TAP) in two people diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Method: TAP is an occupational therapy (OT) community-based intervention program that prescribes personalised activities to reduce difficult behaviours of dementia. The OT works with carers over a 4-month period (assessment, activity prescription and generalisation of strategies). Study measures were collected (blind researcher) pre- and post-intervention: cognition, functional disability, behavioural symptoms and Caregiver Confidence and Vigilance. Results: A 51-year-old woman with behavioural-variant FTD could consistently engage in more activities post-intervention, with scores indicating improvements to behaviour, function and caregiver confidence. A 63-year-old man with semantic variant FTD engaged well in the prescribed activities, with scores reflecting reduced carer distress regarding challenging behaviours and improved caregiver vigilance. Conclusions: TAP is efficacious in FTD, allowing for differences in approach for FTD subtype, where behavioural symptoms are very severe and pervasive. ▸ Implications for Rehabilitation • The Tailored Activities Program is an intervention which can be tailored to account for unique behavioural and language profiles inherent across frontotemporal dementia (FTD) subtypes. • Maintaining a flexible approach when applying an intervention in FTD allows for tailoring to individual case variability within FTD subtypes.