Reality Orientation: A Milieu Therapy Used in an Institution for the Aged

Abstract

Implementation of “24-hour” and classroom Reality Orientation procedures resulted in improvedorientation to environment and behavioral functioning for confused and disoriented residents of an institutionfor the elderly. This study used a pretest-posttest control group design with 12 residents in the experimentalgroup and 13 residents in the control group. Reality Orientation was an effective procedurefor training staff to interact with residents suffering from confusion and disorientation regardingspatio-temporal aspects of their environment.