Our community behaviour support service (CBSS) helps families and caregivers of people with dementia.
Behaviours like aggression, wandering, or agitation can be really distressing for both the person experiencing them and their caregivers. It can often feel very overwhelming.
Whether someone is caring for someone at home or in a nursing home, we’re here to support carers of people who have a diagnosis of dementia. We know that everyone is different and each situation is unique, and that creating an action plan can take more than one visit. It’s important to us that we support people in the way that works best for them, meeting their specific needs.
Our Community Behaviour Support Service is here to support people like Graham and Ann. This is their story.
Graham was living at home with his wife, Ann, but had become very distressed because he was having hallucinations and delusions as a symptom of his newly-diagnosed dementia, which he preferred to describe as ‘memory difficulties’.
Graham was struggling to cope with his emotions, which sometimes meant he was disorientated or aggressive towards Ann. Graham would also experience ‘imposter syndrome’, which he found very distressing because he would not always recognise or be aware of Ann, which could cause confrontation.
Our community behaviour support service (CBSS) team has worked alongside Graham and Ann to create a plan which has helped to improve their home life. The plan includes redirecting Graham if he’s becoming agitated, removing visual prompts that he finds distressing, and avoiding using negative language like ‘no’ and ‘you can’t’.
As Graham’s physical health was also impacting his dementia and his mental health, we’ve supported Ann to feel confident in recognising and getting treatment for issues that can make it look like Graham’s dementia is declining. This includes pain, constipation, and underlying developing infections.
The help from our team allowed Graham to stay at home for 18 months, supported by Ann.
We’ve recently received a new referral for Graham, as his dementia has progressed and Ann is now looking for more support.
Our CBSS team will continue to support Graham and Ann with their new referral, with the aim to work alongside the other agencies supporting Graham to help him stay at home for as long as possible.
Find out more about our Community Behaviour Support Service.