Dementia is a progressive disorder that will affect how you’re brain functions and particularly your ability to remember, think and reason. Dementia usually affects older people and are approximately 820,000 people in the UK with the disorder, and around 15,000 are under the age of 65. If the dementia is recognised early enough that are a lot of things that you can be done to make the quality of life better. In a lot of dementia cases the symptoms and quality of life will progress and get worse over a number of years. The most common symptoms of a dementia patient are: * Forgetfulness, maybe forgetting names of people that you have been in contact with every day, or forgetting what you did just hours or days ago. * Having …show more content…
Some effects may be that they may not remember things that they have done days ago but they may clearly remember things such as World War Two. This may have an effect on a person’s self esteem as they will be noticing the change in their behaviour and memory and it will make them think about what has changed and because of their short memory they may get worried that something bad has happened to them but they cannot remember. It can also effect self esteem and a person’s confidence because if they lose the ability to communicate and understand what people are saying to them they may shut down and just ignore everyone that they come into contact with as they may feel embarrassed about their lack of communication. Alzheimer’s disease can have a big effect on family members around the person with the disease; it would be upsetting seeing a loved one got through such a major change in their behaviour and their mental capability. If you live with someone with Alzheimer’s and they are wondering in the middle of the night and have sleep difficulties and this can disturb the family in the house. Also if they are wondering around in the middle of the night around the community the police may pick them up, meaning they are again disturbed as the police will need to contact someone to make sure that the person is ok. There are also worries about financial problems that the Alzheimer’s sufferer may have, if they cannot manage
Dealing with a learning disability: Dementia generally affects people with learning disabilities in similar ways to people without a learning disability, but there are some important differences. People with a learning disability are at greater risk of developing dementia at a younger age - particularly those with Down's syndrome. They will require specific support to understand the changes they are experiencing, and to access appropriate services after diagnosis and as dementia progresses. Those with a learning disability are also less
People who have dementia are not aware of requirements for living. They can forget to do the essential things that are vital. Taking medicines, hygiene and even eating are often forgotten. They can get lost or hurt and not understand what is necessary to correct a situation. Turning on the cooker or water and forgetting to turn it off again, locking doors, crossing streets etc can all be dangerous even deadly. In the same way as you would not think an infant capable of self care, a person with dementia cannot be either. Considering the facts that they cannot act in the manner of a
During an average lifetime, one can expect to have at least occasional memory lapses from time to time. Usually it's something as simple as forgetting what you just did a few minutes ago, forgetting if you turned the stove off, or if you left your keys on the table or in the bathroom counter. Such lapses are relatively normal, but when they become a recurring theme, it's a more serious problem.
Prior to diagnosis the individual may show signs of forgetfulness due to an incline in memory functions. They may even show signs of a decline in reasoning and communication
Allow the person with dementia and their family plan and make arrangements for the future
Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of signs and symptoms that happen to the brain when it is affected by the progression of certain diseases such as vascular dementia (when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen) and Alzheimer’s disease (a specific brain disease). Some of the affects these diseases have are on a person’s memory, language and communication abilities, behaviour and ability to make rational judgements.
Dementia is a progressive illness that usually occurs over a period of time one of the earliest signs of dementia is problems with a persons memory, this can result in the individual behaving and communicating differently .
6) This is especially true when one begins to forget recently learned information, such as names, and forgetting important events such as birthdays, as well as asking for the same information
The development of a dementia environment approach will highly impact the improvement of life of people living with dementia involving their family and carers, evidently reducing the stigma linked with the condition. The need to physically and socially design an approach for the progressing ageing population, and better comprehension of the issues affecting the dementia suffering elderly. Life Community Village is a specially designed and self-contained village for dementia-affected people imitating a normal daily life. It visions a change of approach in dementia care in the future and cope with the growing number of issues of dementia in the ageing population. Its mission on the other hand, is focused on delivering a holistic and person-centric approach by leading and optimizing a normal life for dementia-suffering elderly. Also providing a dementia-friendly community and creating a society that the dementia-suffering person can engage in. In the current increasing population of older Australians, there is over a million that has received a form of aged care support and services every year. This is provided through the collaboration of funding and administration of the local, state and federal government. Meanwhile, according to Australian statistics, there are more than 353,800 who are living with dementia. In less than five years, it is projected to rise to 400,000; and due to the fact that there is currently no cure for the condition, and with the
Dementia is a loss of brain function. If affects memory, thinking, language, judgement and behaviour. Dementia is progressive, so the symptoms will gradually get worse. In a later stage of dementia people will find it hard to carry out daily tasks and will come dependant on other people.
A topic I learned more of this semester in regards to the older population was dementia. Some loss in memory function is an inevitable consequence of aging, and as one ages, it takes more time to process information and retrieve memories. However, "Dementia is a general term that refers to progressive, degenerative brain dysfunction, including deterioration in memory, concentration, language skills, visuospatial skills, and reasoning, that interferes with a person's daily functioning" (Mauk, 2014, p. 377). This loss of mental skills affects the ability to function over time, causing problems with memory and how one thinks, impacting these individual's overall quality of life.
It is inevitable that eventually each of us will grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly people are challenged by many illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as people age is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient’s cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimer’s disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends will find it very hard to cope when a loved one begins slipping away and losing memory of who they are.
Alzheimer's care is not designed to replace family care and support. Rather, it is there so the family can effectively provide care and support with the best information, guidance, and assistance. From help with the daily chores such as light housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation to transportation, personal care, and even help eating, Alzheimer's care allows the family to focus on the most important part of the care: spending quality time with their loved
Alzheimer’s Disease deteriorates the brain and memory problems are the first warning signs of cognitive loss, especially the inability to remember new information. Progression of symptoms ranges from very mild to very severe. The pace of progression can happen rapidly or over a course of years. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a condition causing more memory problems than typical for an individual’s age, but it is not as severe as AD. Studies have shown a link with some older individuals with MCI go on to develop AD. Further early-cognitive deficits include trouble with finding or using the right words,
Dementia care offers support and services to an individual affected by the disease itself, which is dementia. It addresses the right and needs of the person with dementia and their families. Improving quality of life and changing attitudes towards dementia is the main goal of dementia care. Dementia care also provides quality of care, maintain dignity and promote health, security and comfort in consideration with the standard of care and ethical guidelines (Adams & Manthorpe, 2003).