Leveraging Existing Abilities in Dementia (LEAD™): Changing the Way Rehabilitation Professionals Care for Persons Living with Dementia

Latest estimates indicate that 5-7% of the population are living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias worldwide with a doubling in incidence expected every 20 years. Rehabilitation professionals are challenged with the complex needs of these patients. It is commonly thought that patients with dementia do not benefit from rehabilitation because of cognitive decline, behaviors, lack of communication, or difficulties in learning; however, current literature indicates this is not accurate. With proper knowledge and training, rehabilitation professionals can provide dementia-specific, person-centered care to maximize rehabilitation outcomes by maintaining or even improving function and thereby reduce healthcare costs. This article introduces an innovative rehabilitation framework, Leveraging Existing Abilities in Dementia (LEAD™), which was developed using tenets of the Strength-Based Approach to assist clinicians with the necessary education and skills for working with this specialized patient population. The LEAD™ framework guides the therapist in understanding how the disease process can impact the individual while identifying current strengths and abilities across several key areas allowing the rehabilitation professional to best identify appropriate treatment strategies. Treatment strategies and facilitators are described in three key areas (the ‘3 C’s): communication, cognition, and coping. The LEAD™ Framework for Rehabilitation Professionals aims to address the current barriers to care, such as lack of general knowledge about dementia, how to manage cognitive and emotional behaviors related to dementia, and limited understanding of how to communicate and engage with these patients. This type of guidance for daily practice is needed for these unique patients with hopes of further research.