Understand the Process and Experience of Dementia Essay

A person with dementia has very poor or no short term memory at all, so when it comes to making descisions the answer may change quite alot because they have poor memory recall they may say yes one minute then say no to the exact same question because they cant remember what was asked before hand.

Explain how other factors can cause changes in an individual’s condition that may not be attributable to dementia.

Dementia sufferers communicate in many different ways. They may not be able to speak but they can communicate non-verbally with positive or negative behaviour. They can also communicate using body language and through posture.

An individual’s needs and abilities change over time as a result of their condition and are different for each person. All abilities involve more than one memory and dysfunction of the brain will affect a person’s abilities. Self-awareness and identity can be lost that may affects a person’s abilities and needs. Furthermore anxiety, depression, mental health issues, loss of independence, loss of companionship, change of circumstance. Moreover Seven Stages of Alzheimer's (2006) going from no impairment to very server cognitive decline shows the fluctuation of the needs and abilities.

As the dementia progresses the individual could be unable to communicate, but they may be able to express pain through noise I.e. screams, but these could be easily misinterpreted by care providers as a “normal” behaviour if these are regular occurrences.

Scientists do not know exactly what causes Alzheimer’s, but scientists say the disease develops a complex series of events that take place in the brain over a long period of time (3). Alzheimer’s is known to cause dementia with older people. Dementia is the loss of thinking, remembering, and reasoning.

Dementia effects your memory and a person’s ability to achieve a normal everyday task and activities.

In many cases patients with dementia wait a long period of time to go to the doctor after they start experiencing symptoms because they think it is a natural part of aging. The patients with dementia notice symptoms far before their care givers do but do not explain them to anyone. The fact that the patients wait so long to see a doctor about their symptoms and the lack of knowledge of the disease by the patient and care givers is a major hindrance to getting an accurate diagnosis and care. The care givers of the dementia patients play a major role in the diagnosis process as results showed they either promote or hinder the start of the diagnosis process. Early detection is essential to helping the patients live the best lives possible with dementia. Although treatment does not cure dementia it is usually much more effective in slowing in the progression when started in the early stages and an early diagnosis

Early detection of dementia is essential because it can provide a means to seek appropriate agencies that will support the individual suffering from dementia as well as close family members and even friends. It also provides a means for support networks for the dementia suffering. Moreover, it provides prevention of behavior and psychological symptoms. This means the progression of the disease can be delayed with early detection, prevention, and diagnosis. A lot of individuals’ caring for their elder loved ones will ask how they can look for sings of dementia to reduce the excessive disability, dependency, and suffering of the dementia sufferer.

Many tend to get dementia and Alzheimer’s confused, but they are two different diseases. People with dementia have symptoms that can vary greatly such as memory loss, communication and language, ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning and judgement, and visual perception. There are 36 million people estimated to live with dementia, and this number is rapidly increasing” (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2012). When someone has dementia, it starts off slowly but then progresses quickly. “Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and

Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain Dementia patients often forget to do daily activities such as eating, bathing, etc. They lose the ability to solve problem have problem controlling their anger. Some patients may see things that are not there and often become agitated. Memory loss is one of the common symptoms.

Dementia can change a person's personality (Hudson, 2003). They may find it hard to control their emotions and struggle to empathise. They may seem more self-centred, suffer from hallucinations and even make wrong claims or statements. All of these factors make it difficult for relatives and carers to interact with the dementia patient especially when offering very personal care. Dementia reduces a person's ability to live independently and, as the condition progresses, they will increasingly need support and assistance. Their lack of mental capacity makes dementia patients vulnerable to the actions of others (Hudson, 2003). They will require assistance with decisions and gradually lose their autonomy as the dementia progresses, eventually

During this step the researcher start reviewing and critique relevant literature. It was concluded that there is a need for a better cognitive tool to identify MCI. If the patient is not diagnosed correctly then treatment could be postponed until their symptoms get worse. Current medications for the treatment of Dementia do not cure the disease they have been shown to lessen or stabilize symptoms. Clinicians are hesitant to start medications on patients unless there is evidence to back the need for the drug. If clinicians do not have the right tools to assist in the diagnosis of Dementia these medications may not be prescribed soon enough. In this step the researcher will sell this problem and question to the

1.5Each person experiences dementia in different ways, and there is no set in stone timescales when the condition will deteriorate. Fluctuation of needs and abilities can fluctuate to the person’s mood, they may have done an activity for several years therefore feel confident about this until they are out of their familiar routine and surroundings so their confusion will grow, making their symptoms more obvious.

Contrary to public belief, dementia is not one specific disease rather a range of symptoms that are associated with cognitive decline and a reduction in a person’s ability to remain active and independent. There was a time when dementia was referred to as “senility” or having “senior moments,” but these monikers suggest that dementia is a normal part of aging, and this concept simply isn’t accurate.