The best, in fact the only, way to deal with behavioral issues was thought to be large doses of antipsychotics and other psychoactive drugs. Today, psychiatrists working in this field operate within an entirely different paradigm. They strongly believe that not only can these individuals be differentially diagnosed, they can be treated effectively. We call it continuous active treatment, though it certainly doesn't mean that for 24 hours a day, someone has to be teaching this person to tie his shoe. It means that all the personnel working in the facility feed into the continuous active treatment for this person, including behavior modification efforts.
Active treatment means learning.
Arriving at a diagnosis can be particularly difficult in this population, says Kidder, though some psychiatrists who work extensively with these residents have developed high levels of expertise. This is an approach dear to the hearts of trained psychologists and social workers, explains Kidder, adding that these professionals are accustomed to working within such behavioral models. Collect baseline data. State a reasonable hypothesis. Intervene in the least intrusive and most positive way.