Scenario: A woman who cannot verbally communicate develops a series of urinary tract infections as she is not able to relay that she needs to use the bathroom or that she has soiled herself. With each infection, she experiences physical pain and exacerbated dementia symptoms, like increased confusion. On one occasion, the woman was hospitalized because the condition spread to her kidneys as it was not treated quickly enough.

Care based on MI results: Upon meeting with the woman’s family, I learned that she was a children’s book illustrator. After completing an MI survey, which showed a high level of visual/spatial intelligence, I suggested using the Picture Exchange System, an augmentative communication tool where people relay information using pictures. I was able to teach the woman how to use the system and she was then able to request the bathroom by simply pointing to a picture of a toilet, which decreased her incidents of UTI’s significantly. (It’s important to note that those with dementia who do not possess visual/spatial intelligence have a very hard time using this augmentative communication tool.)