[A nursing experience using the props-integrated communicative approach to ameliorate aggression in a frontotemporal...

This report introduces the nursing caring experience with a male patient with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) who was hospitalized in an acute psychiatric ward from March 5th to April 30th, 2012 due to the clinical manifestations of verbally expressive impairment, aggression, and subsequent caregiver burden. The patient was assessed according to the guidelines of clinical competencies for mental health nursing assessments developed by the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses Association. Three clinical diagnoses were identified after this assessment, including (1) impaired verbal communication, (2) chronic confusion, and (3) caregiver role strain. The current report focuses only on the clinical issue of impaired verbal communication. We adopted a props-integrated communicative approach by integrating props and physical motions with communicative strategies. This approach enabled us to formulate a patient-centered communicating model and prompt for active expression and adequate communication, which ultimately resolved the patient's aggression problem. In addition, we provided psychoeducation to the family members in order to teach them the relevant knowledge, skills, and approaches that caregivers may use to enhance their caring capabilities and reduce the burden of caregiving. This successful experience may be used as a reference in caring for FTD patients with communicative impairments. Our proposed approach integrates props with simple language and develops an appropriate communicating model to provide high quality care for patients.