Breaking Through Dementia: Validation

Guide: Vicki de Klerk, Executive Director, Validation Training Institute

Validation is a proven, non-pharmaceutical method of communication developed by social worker and gerontologist Naomi Feil that helps improve the connection between caregivers and older adults experiencing dementia, also known as cognitive-decline or disorientation. The session will cover the background of the Validation method, the basics of the Validation method and what to do next!

1. Participants in this webinar will be able to describe at least two Validation principles
2. Participants in this webinar will be able to practice three beginning techniques of Validation including centering, observation and finding an appropriate approach.
3. Participants in this webinar will gain insight into four reasons behind behavioral expressions and learn how to use Validation techniques in responding to them.

Vicki de Klerk-Rubin is the Executive Director of the Validation Training Institute and a certified Validation Master; together with her mother, Naomi Feil, she revised the books, Validation: the Feil Method and The Validation Breakthrough and she is the author of Validation Techniques for Dementia Care: The Family Guide to Improving Communication. Ms. de Klerk holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University, a Master of Business Administration from Fordham University and is a Dutch-trained registered nurse.