Doing Things.

Doing Things. Jitka M Zgola, 1987 149 pp The John Hopkins University Pres 701 West 40th road Baltimore, MD 2121 1. $2000 hardcover, $895 paperback. Reviewed on Avalie R. Saperstein.

After a lengthy silence, there is a late proliferation of books and how-to manuals about designing activities for living bodys with dementing illnesses. Jitka Zgola's part derived from the experience of the Alzheimer's "Day Away Program" of Ottawa, makes a significant contribution to this topic. It approaches activities not in a vacuum, however as an integrated part of a person's life. The book's theme is that Doing Things (the activities in which single engages) is inextricably linked to a person's perception of self. Furthermore, Doing Things includes activities of daily living, a particularly relevant area for dement bodily substances struggling with everyday functioning. It is within this adjoining matter that Ms. Zgola addresses the challenge of designing activities to be of use to as a powerful tool for reaffirming identity.

The work begins with an excellent chapter in succession the neurobehavioral changes created from the dementing process. The functional and behavioral changes are defined and described in denominations of a person's everyday behavior and of a diminished thinking principle of well-being. Ms. Zgola skillfully enumerates us how life may appear, from the dement person's perspective. The following chapter identifies the general "strengths" dement parts retain that can be used to create opportunities for designing enjoyable therapeutic activities.

undivided caution, however, is that although the universals can be incorporated into programming, the overall program is not easily replicated in mostly day care and long terminus care facilities. The program relies in succession a very high staff-toparticipant ratio which is a rare program enjoyment The second part of the work addresses the how-to of matching the right activity(ies) to the one Ms. Zgola discusses the important first grade of carefully assessing the person's cognitive, physical, and functional status and evaluating his or her psychosocial extremitys She then presents a creative, useful way to analyze activities to determine if they adapted the individual's profile. Activities are analyzed along three dimensions: the physical, perceptual, sensory, and cognitive demands they place in succession the person; their value to the participant in boundarys of sensory stimulation and satisfaction of needs; and the succes potential. solidify examples of activities geared for human frames of varying abilities and indigences illustrate her conceptual model.

The last part of the part discusses the practical problems of engaging bodily substances in activities and possible solutions, maintaining their interest, and evaluating the consequence s Again, excellent examples are provided. Intervening chapters discuss the necessity and component parts of dementia diagnosis, the impact of the environment forward programming, and scheduling a structur day.

drawn out term care and day care staff of varying disciplines and horizontals of sophistication can benefit from the book's approach to activities as an integral part of people's lives, as well as its conceptions on designing and implementing activities. Families, too, can benefit, for Doing Things reaffirms the humanity of dement individuals and stresses what they can do. It can assist families in assigning tasks and engaging their impaired family members in appropriate activities.

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