Using life long habits, routine, and muscle memory to provide her direction rather than instructing her on tasks. Is there any real research about this approach?

I've tried it a bit, using drill ("dress left" "stand at ease" etc.) which God knows should be as deeply embedded as anything could be, with - mnyeh - mixed results. I suppose it depends on the type of dementia: my mother's mixed picture means that she will have lost some feedback from her motor systems, too, which would explain why she seems to have no idea where her feet are sometimes.

I agree that it's an attractive idea - saves an awful lot of arguing and repetition. We have devised little dance routines for things like transferring, and for getting into the car, which kind of work but only as a pas de deux - in other words, I still have to put her hands in the right places, so if she's trying to do things by herself or if anyone else (other than an experienced PT or OT) is helping, it's no go.

Don't know if there's any research. I'll have a look at the University of Bradford and see if they say anything.

I am not aware of any current research on this subject. I am fairly new as my mother's caregiver and would be interested to know if there is info on this as well. But I can tell you that a Dr.from Baylor University advised me that routine and muscle memory seemed to really help patients he had seen and I have been doing this with my mother for several months now. I can't tell you if or how this is going to help in the long run yet, but I do know that when I have to skio her routine and exercises for some reason, it seems to really throw her off for a few days. Seems to me that it is helping her and it is still something we can do together.

I know routine is essential for me in caring for my mom with Alzheimer's Disease. I try to do the same thing every morning and every evening. That has helped me when she doesn't remember how to get dressed or where her clothes are. I routinely hang up her clothes in her bathroom on hangers, so she can wash up and change into her clothes every morning. Same thing at night with pajamas, also hung up in the bathroom, same way, same place. She has caught on and remembers most of the time. Try to wake up and go to sleep same time every night. She gets her coffee in the same mug every morning, her evening cocoa at 7 PM in the same mug every night. I try to use routine to keep things calm as much as possible. It is not enough of course, but it certain does help set her expectations on what the day will be like. What do you do?