Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine whether the participation of pleasant events would increase the voluntary participation in group activities and affect agitated and depressed behaviors. The participant was an 89-year-old male resident living in a nursing home. The participant had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease, expressed depressed and agitated behaviors, had somewhat impaired vision, and did not voluntarily attend many group activities. Though the participant possessed several symptoms affecting his overall quality of life, there are several treatment options that can improve certain behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s, specifically behaviors such as agitation and depression. A treatment specific to the participant’s symptoms was implemented to increase his participation in pleasant events. 

The results demonstrated that the participant had a decrease in his agitated and depressed behaviors and an increase in his voluntary participation in group activities. These findings suggest that an increase in pleasant events tailored to an individual may reduce instances of agitation and depressive symptoms while also increasing activity attendance among elderly patients with Alzheimer’s dementia.