ButterflyEffects.com

The Butterfly Effects Behavioral Approach to Adult and Elder Care

We as a society are now at a crossroads regarding the care of disabled and aging adults. Whether we're glad to be here or not, we need to decide what the future of adult care will look like. Soon, if not already, at least two out of every three of us will be involved in the long term care of a family member. Despite distracting arguments over Medicare and social security, the reality regarding any numbers is that family members are already providing at least 80 percent of the support that their loved ones require. In short, we've become a nation of caregivers, Somewhere between 50-65 million Americans are already involved in providing that care today.

Demographics define our new reality. With the passing of each day, 2000 baby boomers turn 65, while our birthrate continues on the decline. This means that as the years pass, fewer of us will be required to do more.

Whether we are prepared to acknowledge it or not, we need to embrace a paradigm shift in our thinking towards the care of disabled adults and seniors.
To this end we need to abandon the medical model we now employ by default and look to a behavioral model. We will quickly discover, as we have discovered in dealing with children with disabilities, that the behavioral approach will prove more effective, more humane, and more economically advantageous.

What research exists, already indicates that behavior problems are the most common precipitating factor leading up to institutionalization. Furthermore, the research also tells us that behavioral problems are the leading cause of pharmaceutical interventions within care facilities. If that doesn't give us pause for thought, what should disturb us is that surveys of care facility staff indicate that individual staff in the field exhibit little preference if any for the use of behavioral tools as the first line of treatment for behavior problems in senior clients. Were this still the common policy with regard to children, we would be up in arms. (It has taken many years of advocacy and research and Federal regulation, but children in school systems must now be afforded behavioral approaches as the first and primary intervention)


Furthermore, much as we have come to recognize this truth with children, we need to recognize that with seniors as well, early intervention is the most effective and cost efficient approach.
We now understand the processes of aging and dementia well enough to know that when individuals are helped early on and proactively, it slows the rate of progressive conditions and the mental and physical deterioration that hampers independence and social involvement.

At Butterfly Effects, we want to encourage this shift in thinking with regard to the care of adults.
We've long understood that how a society cares for its elderly parents defines its humanity. But on a more personal level, we should also understand that how we treat disabled and aging adult is the definitive lesson to our children on how we want them to care for us when we grow older.

Valued Lives Enjoyed in the Most Independent, Natural, and Least Restrictive Environment

In support of our mission to help all individuals achieve and /or maintain lives of realized potential and active involvement as valued family and community members, all of us at Butterfly Effects seek to:

• Always employ methods and supports that adhere to a commitment to and respect for lives enjoyed in the least restrictive, most independent, and most natural environments
• Encourage and support the use of behavioral interventions as the first line of intervention when dealing with challenging behaviors of seniors, including such common problems as elopement, aggression, and food refusal
• Encourage pharmaceuticals as behavioral interventions only when necessary to keep individuals from doing harm to themselves and other and always as an adjunct therapy to primary behavioral approaches
• Provide occupational therapy at the first signs of social withdrawal to promote involvement in social activities and to help individuals adjust to the practical use of assistive devices at home and in public
• Provide physical therapy to promote physical well being and active life styles that incorporate community and family involvement
• Address speech and language declines and deficit as early as problems are evidenced, employing ASHA approved methods in speech therapy that encourage open and fluid communication -- including as necessary the introduction of assistive communication devices
• Encourage the maintenance of cognitive acuity and memory through trained companionship that offers enrichment, stimulation, and personal involvement
• Make routine mental health checks and provide needed counseling and therapy to manage depression and other mental health concerns proactively
• Encourage family caregivers, paid companions, and respite workers to work with Board Certified ABA behavior consultants to develop and implement behavioral plans that address behavior concerns early, intensively, and consistently
• Train family caregivers and companions to help them understand the essentials of ABA so as to foster communication and effective least restrictive problem solving when dealing with senior family members
• Support the efforts of seniors to remain active contributing member of society through work and community involvement
• Advocate for the removal of legal and financial disincentive to seniors who elect to work
• Encourage proactive life skill training and supports for seniors living independently, including grooming, hygiene, nutrition, meal preparation, money management, and safety -- appreciating that in some case these are news skills that they may have been previously provided by spouses and others
• Promote the proactive use of respite services to help preserve families and reduce negative incidents and regression caused by stress to both caregivers and those receiving care
• Advocate for federal and state support for family caregivers
• Promote more complete research for seniors and implement evidence-based supports that involve functional behavior analysis and ABA-based behavior interventions, looking especially at seniors living on their own and with families

All Butterfly Effects therapists and respite workers are trained in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis). We employ no individuals we would not trust in our own home with the care of our own loved ones.

Whether you are looking for workday, weekend, or evening support, or respite care, please give us a call today.

Also please consider any of our adult rehabilitative services provided by exceptionally qualified speech, physical, occupational, and behavioral therapists. How we care for our elderly parents not only defines us as a society. But on a more personal level, it is the definitive lesson to our children on how we want them to care for us when we grow older

We currently provide adult and senior care and rehabilitative services in South Florida.  However, we are continually training new staff across the state and eventually across the nation, so feel free to call Butterfly Effects. If we can't provide you with support, we will do our best to offer some direction.

Adult rehabilitative and prevention therapies
Research on Adult Behavioral Management
ABA for Adults
Respite Services
Support for Family Caregivers