Olivier Piguet

Objectives This study examined the acceptability and usefulness of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) training in enhancing the capabilities of support staff and family members providing behaviour support to residents with dementia in residential aged care (RAC). Methods A mixed-methods pilot study was conducted across 3 RAC organisations, involving pre- and post-training questionnaire assessments for clinical leaders (n = 8), support staff (n = 37) and family members (n = 18). Results Findings indicated increased confidence among support staff and family members in providing behaviour support, with 96% indicating it would support their practices across settings. Key training benefits included identifying and addressing underlying causes of challenging behaviours. A majority (89%) expressed the need for further behaviour support training. Conclusion Recommendations focus on developing systems to enable effective and collaborative behaviour support practices. Further research is needed to examine application of PBS principles and planning for residents living with dementia.

Background and purpose The heterogeneity of cognitive and behavioural disturbances in frontotemporal dementia–motor neuron disease (FTD‐MND), and clinical differences between FTD‐MND and FTD subtypes, have been illustrated cross‐sectionally. This study aimed to examine the FTD‐MND disease trajectory by comparing clinical features of FTD‐MND and the behavioural variant FTD (bvFTD) longitudinally. Methods Neuropsychological and disease severity assessments were conducted in a cohort of FTD‐MND (baseline, n = 42; follow‐up, n = 18) and bvFTD (baseline, n = 116; follow‐up, n = 111) using a longitudinal, case–control design. Age‐, sex‐, and education‐matched controls ( n = 52) were recruited. Predictors of clinical progression were analyzed. Voxel‐based morphometry analysis was undertaken to investigate the progression of brain atrophy. Results At baseline, FTD‐MND was characterized by semantic and general cognition deficits, whereas bvFTD had greater behavioural disturbances. General cognition and language deteriorated in FTD‐MND when followed longitudinally. Language deficits at baseline predicted cognitive deterioration and disease progression and correlated with progressive atrophy of language regions. Further deterioration in behaviour was evident in bvFTD over time. The rate of disease progression (i.e., general cognition, semantic association, and disease severity) was significantly faster in FTD‐MND than in bvFTD. Conclusions FTD‐MND and bvFTD appear to have distinct disease trajectories, with more rapid progression in FTD‐MND. Language impairments should be closely monitored in FTD‐MND as potential predictors of cognitive deterioration and disease progression.