Abstract
Four patients with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) were introduced to rehabilitation of memory based on their problems in daily living, such as names of rehabilitation staff, places where they live, dates, schedules and routines. After 4 months, few patients revealed any improvement on the Mini Mental State Examination, Hasegawa Dementia Scale-Revised, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, or Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test. With respect to rate of correct answers for tasks based on problems in daily living, all patients revealed improvement in names and places, but no patients improved concerning dates, schedules or routines. These results indicate that tasks relating to names and places that involve stationary and semantic factors should be introduced. Tasks of remembering dates, schedules and routines that involve unstable and episodic factors did not seem to improve. These findings suggest that it is important to support the daily living of DAT patients with pragmatical adjustments and services. It is also important to consider their emotional conditions.
