At this year’s Intensive Interaction conference, ‘Integrating Intensive Interaction Principles into Psychological Practice’, we are very fortunate to have Prof. Arlene Astell and Dr Maggie Ellis (MBE) presenting on their approach, ‘Adaptive Interaction‘.
Now, you might be asking if Intensive Interaction and Adaptive Interaction are one and the same thing … perhaps? So, to help clarify things, using the words of Astell et al (2022) themselves: Adaptive Interaction is an approach that ‘… grew out of Intensive Interaction‘ – and I would say that, in practice, they are very much aligned in terms of their working philosophy and applied techniques – however, the client group with whom it is used is clearly different i.e. Adaptive Interaction is specifically used with people living with advanced dementia.
However, in terms of the cross-over between Adaptive Interaction and Intensive Interaction, in their ground-breaking book ‘Adaptive Interaction and Dementia: How to Communicate without Speech (2018, JKP), they directly reference Intensive Interaction strategies set out by both Hewett & Nind (1994, 1996, 1999) and Phoebe Caldwell (2005, 2008) in their respective books on the approach.
As Ellis & Astell (2017) usefully tell us: ‘Adaptive Interaction (AI) is a simplified approach to communication that can equip caregivers with the skills to communicate effectively with individuals with dementia who can no longer speak. Caregivers [are] able to use Adaptive Interaction to learn the language of the individuals they care for and adopt nonverbal strategies to connect with them’ – well, I would muse🤔, in terms of its purpose, it sounds very much like Intensive Interaction.
They go on to state that ‘Adaptive Interaction could be a useful tool for improving the quality of life and well-being of people living with advanced dementia who can no longer speak by providing a means of enhancing caregiving relationships‘ – well, ‘enhancing caregiving relationships’ sounds very much like Intensive Interaction yet again to me!
So, to find out more about the use of Intensive/Adaptive Interaction with people with late-stage dementia, and to be part of the conversation that develops there, please come to the conference (on Friday 4th September at the Unipart Centre in Oxford), where Prof. Arlene and Dr Maggie (MBE) will be giving presentations on:
- Helping Families to Use the Principles of Intensive Interaction with People Living with Advanced Dementia.
- Exploring the Barriers and Enablers to Implementing Intensive and Adaptive Interaction in Practice.
For more details on the conference, and to book your place, visit the Intensive Interaction Conference webpage at: https://www.intensiveinteraction.org/conference-uk-2026/
For more information on Adaptive Interaction, see:
Ellis, M. & Astell, A. (2011) Adaptive Interaction: a new approach to communicating with people with advanced dementia. Journal of Dementia Care, 19(3), 24-26.
Ellis, M. & Astell, A. (2017) Communicating with people living with dementia who are nonverbal: The creation of Adaptive Interaction. PloS one, 12(8), e0180395.
Ellis, M. & Astell, A. (2018) Adaptive Interaction and Dementia: How to Communicate without Speech. JKP; London.
Astell, A., Shoaran, S. & Ellis, M. (2022) ‘Using Adaptive Interaction to Simplify Caregiver’s Communication with People with Dementia Who Cannot Speak‘. Frontiers in Communication.
Also, for summaries I have written on articles related to the use of Intensive Interaction (come on now, in terms of actual practice it’s the same thing really!) with people with dementia, please also see:
Connecting with Intensive Interaction 