Environmental influences on behavior of the elderly with dementia: Principles for intervention in the home

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease are likely to experience heightened sensitivity to influences from the environment. Such influences may contribute to a range of behaviors which may be maladaptive and pose difficulty for the caregiver. In order to understand and modify transactions between impaired individuals and the environment, an environmental model, developed by Barris and colleagues, is presented and expanded. From this discussion, twelve intervention principles are derived which can be used by a range of health care professionals to guide treatment. Case material exemplifies use of the twelve intervention principles.