With Alzheimer's and other forms of progressive dementia on the rise, many people and their families may feel helpless. But contrary to popular belief, there is a way to help people with memory loss remember things. It's called space retrieval. In space retrieval, a care partner works with a person to practice remembering specific information, such as when to take medication or how to use a walker. At first, the time between practices is short, just 5 to 30 seconds. Then those times progressively increase until the person has learned the desired response or action. Space retrieval can't stop dementia or restore memory, and it may not be appropriate for people with severe memory loss. But many people benefit and are able to be more independent, stay safe, and have a better quality of life. Here, we'll go through how space retrieval works, step by step. First, identify the person's need or desire. Does Jane need help remembering to use her cane? Does Bob want to remember his wedding anniversary? Needs are requirements and often involve safety related information and tasks. Desires are wishes or wants, but are often just as important as needs and can help produce disruptive and inappropriate behaviors. Spend some time getting to know the person to best understand how to help using space retrieval. The abilities of people with dementia are highly variable and not everyone is capable of space retrieval. To assess whether it's appropriate, see whether the person can retain a new piece of information for 30 seconds. If the person passes this quick oral screening and you plan on using a visual cue in your practice with him or her, move on to a reading screening. A protocol and form are available in the book, Space Retrieval, Step by Step. Now you can begin to use space retrieval. Make sure the person understands what he or she is trying to learn and why. Create a lead question and response based on their need or desire. These should be simple, such as where do you keep your glasses? On my bedside table. Sometimes the lead question and response will incorporate physical tasks. For example, the lead question, what should you do before standing up from your wheelchair requires the person to provide the verbal response, lock the breaks, and also to perform the physical task? First see if the person can reply without a timed interval. If so, advance according to this schedule. Roughly doubling the weight each time. Once you go past two minutes, be sure to incorporate other activities while waiting, such as playing a game of cards or chatting, anything the person enjoys. If the person provides an incorrect answer, don't say you are wrong. Instead, provide the correct response and point him or her to the visual cue and try again. Ask the lead question and have the person answer immediately. Decrease the time interval by half before asking the question again. If the person answers incorrectly three times in a row, stop the session and try again on a different day. If a person struggles with spaced retrieval, consider simplifying the lead question or response or advancing in smaller time increments. When changing the time increments, each time interval between practices should gradually become longer. When the person is able to provide the response at the beginning of three consecutive sessions, the information is considered learned. Although, additional booster practice may still be necessary. Some people need just one spaced retrieval session to achieve this success. Others require more than 30, so try to be flexible. For more on this technique, including forms and data sheets to keep track of progress, check out spaced retrieval step by step by Benagas Brush and Elliott, published by Health Professions Press. These leading experts provide a comprehensive overview of the method along with current research and new ideas about how to incorporate it into daily practice. Case examples make the technique clear and easy to master. Learn more about spaced retrieval and start helping people with memory loss today.