Occupation

Abstracts Tuesday 28 June 2016
outcomes considered important to both children and their
parents.
Impact: Ethnographic studies are required to understand
the lived experiences of childhood disability and impact of
rehabilitation on sense of personal identity.
References
Green D, White S. (2013) Perceptions of confidence and
competence in childhood acquired hemiplegia or unilateral
cerebral palsy. EACD, Vienna, Developmental Medicine and Child
Neurology. 56 (S4), 23
Keywords
Children and families, Research, Practice – present and future,
NHS
Contact E-mail Address
dido.green@brookes.ac.uk
Author Biographies
Green gained extensive clinical and research experience as an
Occupational Therapist specialising in paediatric neurodisability
at Guy’s & St Thomas’. Research interests focus on translational
medicine emphasizing an ecological approach to understanding
challenges to performance and participation. A recipient of
many grants and extensive international collaborations, research
focusses on the neuroplasticity of motor learning and behaviour,
including 3-D motion analysis and advanced brain imaging, to
optimize rehabilitation outcomes. In 2012, Dido formed Breathe
Arts Health Research with the specific aim of integrating the arts
in health care with a robust research programme.
Session 3.1
Modernising the hierarchic dementia scale to
support care planning for people with dementia
Simpson T, Curtin University
The hierarchic dementia scale (HDS) is a reliable, validated
assessment tool that assesses twenty different cognitive
processes (Cole and Dastoor 1996). It was originally developed
in Canada in the late 1970s and has been used in Australia
for many years to identify and classify the remaining abilities
of people with dementia. It has remained popular due to its
numerous advantages over other cognitive assessments: it
focuses on abilities rather than deficits, is time-efficient, can be
used across the entire course of the disease and results can be
used to directly inform interventions and care plans.
However, the original HDS was dated in its terminology and
appearance and used items such as matches and a hammer
which are unacceptable in today’s health and safety regulated
workplace. This limited its utility and impact in contemporary
dementia care.
This project aimed to update all components of the HDS kit
including the user manual, training video, test items and careplanning
guide. This was undertaken through consultation with
occupational therapists with substantial experience in using
the original HDS and with reference to the original developers.
These experts informed the modification of the tool to suit the
present-day environment without compromising its reliability
and validity. In addition, a mobile device app was created to
streamline the administration, reporting and interpretation of
the results and produce individualised care plans based on the
possibility oriented approach which aims to engage abilities
whilst supporting limitation (Freegard 2015).
The finished product is an effective and attractive assessment
which retains the benefits of the original package but fits the
modern world and is well-accepted by both assessors and
those being assessed. It has benefits to occupational therapists
working with people with any level of dementia and in any
setting from community to hospital in-patients or residential
care.
References
Cole MG, Dastoor DP (1996) The hierarchic dementia scale:
conceptualization. International Psychogeriatrics. 8(2), 205–212.
Freegard H (2015) The possibility oriented approach: a guide to
using the hierarchic dementia scale-revised (HDS-R) to identify
abilities and limitations for the person with dementia. Bentley,
WA: Dementia Training Study Centres.
Keywords
Dementia, Resource or equipment design, Practice – present and
future, Other
Contact E-mail Addresses
terrie.simpson@curtin.edu.au
Author Biographies
Terrie Simpson is a UK trained occupational therapist who has
been living and working in Australia since 2007. She works for
the Dementia Training Study Centre which is a government
funded agency providing training to health professionals
working with people with dementia. She is currently studying for
a Masters in Health Professional Education at the University of
Western Australia.
Session 3.2
Using co-production to develop a ‘top-tips’ leaflet
with the Scottish Dementia Working Group
Robertson-Flannigan L 1 , Hunter E 1 , Alzheimer Scotland 1 ,
Queen Margaret University 2
The Scottish Dementia Working Group (SDWG) was set up in
2002 by James McKillop, who had been diagnosed with vascular
dementia, and social researcher Heather Williams. The group
has continued to grow steadily and is now a well-established
national campaigning group who regularly act as the voice
of people with dementia across Scotland. Alzheimer Scotland
and Queen Margaret University (QMU) have worked closely
together for a number of years, a strategic alliance between the
two organisations was developed in 2015. This summer two
students from QMU completed internships with the university
and Alzheimer Scotland, which were funded jointly by Alzheimer
Scotland, Santander Universities and QMU. The interns were
given the opportunity to work with the SDWG and I was asked
to facilitate the ‘Top-Tips’ project.
The project was highlighted within the group’s 2015 priorities
to enable them to share tips that enable them to live well with
dementia with a larger audience (SDWG 2015).
The group suggested a number of ideas which were broken
into headings that everyone agreed on. All the ideas discussed
and agreed upon came from members of the SDWG, and are
strategies that they use and that work well for them. Thinking
about the project from an OT perspective, every member of
the group indicated that using these strategies helps them
to maintain independence in many areas of their lives and
allows them to feel safe and confident both at home and in
the community. Considering the positive impact that these tips
could have on the occupational lives of people with dementia
the project links well with the Model of Human Occupation
(Kielhofner 2008). The environment featured heavily during
our meetings and discussions, in particular how it can present
3