title: Comparing two different orientation strategies for promoting indoor traveling in people with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The present study compared two different types of orientation strategies: an assistive technology program (AT, i.e., remotely controlled sound/light devices) and a backward chaining procedure (BC) for promoting indoor traveling in four persons with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). A social validation assessment of the two strategies was also conducted employing undergraduate students as raters. For three out of four participants, AT intervention was more effective than the BC procedure, whilst for the fourth participant the two types of intervention had a comparably satisfying efficacy. A doubly Multivariate Analysis of Variance on social validation assessment data provided generally more positive scores for the AT intervention. These results suggest that AT programs (a) can be valuably employed for restoring and maintaining independence in indoor traveling in people with moderate to severe AD, and (b) might be perceived as preferable to conventional teaching strategies within daily contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Italy. Electronic address: alessandro.caffo@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Caffò
authors.affiliation: Psychogeriatrics Lectorate, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hoogeveen
authors.affiliation: Psychogeriatrics Lectorate, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Groenendaal
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Viviana A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Perilli
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Damen
authors.affiliation: Lega del Filo d'Oro Research Center, Molfetta, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stasolla
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Lancioni
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bosco
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D012656:Self-Help Devices
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Assistive technology; Cognitive training; Restorative and compensatory strategies; Topographical disorientation