Podcast: 5 questions for behavioral expressions
- begrowthbrenda
- Feb 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 22
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Behavioral expressions are common in the dementia journey. But they are not the problem. They are the symbol or the flag that something is going on underneath that there is a deeper emotional or physical need that your person is having difficulty conveying in other ways.
There are 5 questions I would ask to try to understand what is causing a behavioral expression.
Number one, who is your person? What how did they spend their time as an adult? What are they proud of? Who are the people who are important to them? What do they enjoy?
Number two, what are they expressing during this behavioral expression? Are they looking to leave the home? What are they saying? Are they looking for someone? Is there someplace they need to be and what is their emotional state? Are they worried or angry or lonely or lost?
Number three, what trends have you noticed? Is it a particular time of day? Are there particular people involved? What is the surrounding environment? For example, is it noisy or after someone leaves? Has the day been overstimulating or not engaging enough?
Number four, is there anything biological that could be going on? Is your person experiencing pain? Is there a change in medication? Is there another comorbidity they live with that may be affecting - pain, urgency to use the restroom, hunger or thirst, nutritional imbalance or a UTI?
Number five, put on your "dementia goggles." Is there a common dementia symptom that may be impacting how they're experiencing the world? For example, for many of the dementias, visual perception, impulse control or reactivity and emotional regulation are impacted.
Those are five questions to try to understand what might be either triggering your person or what they may be seeking or needing.
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