Cognitive Retention Therapy
Overview
Cognitive therapies for dementia
Cognitive therapies for dementia are starting to gain some momemtum. Improved clinical assessment in early stages of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, increased cognitive stimulation of the elderly, and the prescription of drugs to slow cognitive decline have resulted in increased...
, based on the research of Dr. Mira Ashby
Mira Ashby
Mira Ashby, CM was the founder of Ashby House, opened in 1978. Ashby House was the first transitional living program for adults with brain injuries in North America. She received the Order of Canada in 1984 for her work on brain injury rehabilitation. She was a doctor in the Red Cross during WWII...
. It is adapted from her programs for brain injury rehabilitation, for which she won the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 1984. CRT is a specifically tailored program to work for the damage done by Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and other dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. Combining word exercises, visual stimulation, a process called errorless learning
Errorless learning
Errorless learning is a procedure introduced by Herbert Terrace which allows discrimination learning to occur with few or even with no responses to the negative stimulus . A negative stimulus is a stimulus associated with undesirable consequences...
, Stroop exercises
Stroop effect
Purple Blue Purple----Blue Purple RedGreen Purple Green----the Stroop effect refers to the fact that naming the color of the first set of words is easier and quicker than the second....
and many other techniques from Dr. Ashby's
Mira Ashby
Mira Ashby, CM was the founder of Ashby House, opened in 1978. Ashby House was the first transitional living program for adults with brain injuries in North America. She received the Order of Canada in 1984 for her work on brain injury rehabilitation. She was a doctor in the Red Cross during WWII...
research, CRT creates personalized activities based on participant’s interests to stimulate all 5 senses.