To facilitate awareness and taste appreciation, let the patient smell or taste a drop of food before eating. Avoid room temperature foods and liquids, which often cause choking due to lack of stimulation. To reduce noise, do not provide social conversation during the meal. Give only as much verbal cueing a necessary for the patient to swallow. Allow at least 40 minutes for each meal.
Many patients have slow-moving or weak mechanisms.
Six small meals per day or supplemental snacks may help these patients. Encourage the patient to feed himself as much as possible, even if it is only one bite per meal. There are times when a catastrophic reaction comes about unprovoked. Distraction is the best way to diffuse the violent behavior of the Alzheimer's person. You cannot reason with him as you would a rational person.