Sequencing; a habit

I attended Dr. Lennox'talk this morning at the Atrium in Quincy entitled 'What is so funny about challenging behaviors?' After a few minutes I realized I'd heard this talk before, but as it is a salient topic, behavior, I stayed. It's always good too to get fresh material to add to my arsenal for giving presentations about the behaviors of Alzheimer's.
Well, something struck me as quite important in the care of the person with Alzheimer's; sequencing habits. We all have routines we do each morning. The question was asked What five things do you do upon arising? The only 2 activities that were common to all were toileting and brushing teeth. Then he asked, 'Which arm do you put into the coat or sweater first?' He noted when the sequence is reversed it causes some anxiety. I recently felt this when I decided to shop from the opposite end of the market than I usually do. I routinely go to the vegetables and automatically pick up onions, broccoli, mushrooms, lettuce, etc. Starting at the other end where the orange juice, ice cream, eggs, etc are made me feel quite awkward. Why? My sequence habit was disturbed. I am cognitively intact and it upset me; what does it do to the person who has a cognitive deficit, I wondered. Think about the ramifications of this knowledge in how we work with this population. I have to give this more thought. Today when I shop (again) I will save myself the trouble and start at the usual end of the store.