Understanding and Supporting People with Dementia

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Understanding and Supporting People with
Dementia

• Elizabeth Bartlett
• Counsellor, Alzheimer's Society
• 29A Brown Street, Salisbury SP1 2AS
• 01722 326236
• ebartlett_at_salisbury-alzheimers.org.uk

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What is dementia?

• A progressive decline in the ability to remember,
  to think and to reason
• Caused by organic changes in the brain

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A Common Condition,particularly in the elderly

• 1 in 1000 under 65
• 1 in 50 between 65 and 75
• 1 in 5 over 80
• Affects about 750,000 people in the UK

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Alzheimer's disease

• This is the most common cause of dementia
• There is a loss of brain cells throughout the
  brain and the development of plaques and tangles
  containing damaging protein
• First described by Dr Alois Alzheimerin 1907

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Vascular dementia

• Damage to brain cells by strokes or clots
  (cerebrovascular disease)
• 20 of people with strokes will develop dementia

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Other types of dementia

• Fronto-temporal lobe dementia
• Often results in disinhibition
• Lewy Body dementia
• Symptoms like Parkinsons disease

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• Although there are recognisable patterns,
• Everyones experience of dementia is different

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Early Symptoms of Dementia

• Apathy
• Forgetfulness
• Unwilling to try new things
• Indecision
• Loss of interest in previous activities

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Symptoms of Dementia (cont)

• Increased agitation
• Repetition
• Difficulty in remembering words, especially nouns
• May blame others for stealing mislaid items

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Further Symptoms

• Muddled about time
• Confused about places
• Visual and spatial problems
• Beginning to have problems with personal care
• Loss of coordination and mobility

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Ways People Cope with Dementia

• Denial
• I try not to think about it
• I know Im denying it, but it is one way to deal
  with it
• Humour
• I make a joke of it
• My goodness! Rita Heyworth, Ronald Regan, Harold
  Wilson. How did I manage to get with that group
  with my brain?

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Coping Strategies (cont)

• Avoidance Circumvention
• I cant think what the dickens to say, so I
  dont talk to strangers
• Ive learned when people ask me questions to
  say, Ill remember in a minute.
• When I cant remember what we are having for
  lunch, I say, What did we agree is on the menu
  today?.

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People with Dementia have Communication Problems

• Difficulty in following instructions
• Hard to begin a conversation
• Difficulty in answering direct questions
• Loss of vocabulary
• Loss of memory for recent events

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Approaches to help communication

• Use the persons name
• Say who you are and why you are there
• Make eye contact
• Try to be on same level
• Speak clearly and in shorter sentences

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Things to avoid

• Direct questions
• Long instructions
• Distractions e.g. TV in the background
• Being confrontational
• Treating people like children

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Be Positive

• Give plenty of encouragement
• Do things with people, rather than for them
• Smile when appropriate, but be sensitive to
  sadness
• Use reassuring gestures and touch
• Dont be afraid to give compliments

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What to do if you are concerned about a resident

• Discuss with relatives
• Encourage residents and/or their families to seek
  medical advice
• If necessary, contact the Community Mental Health
  Team

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What to do if you are concerned about a resident

• Discuss with relatives
• Encourage residents and/or their families to seek
  medical advice
• If necessary, contact the Community Mental Health
  Team

• Alert your line manager

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What to do if you are concerned about a resident

• Discuss with relatives
• Encourage residents and/or their families to seek
  medical advice
• If necessary, contact the Community Mental Health
  Team

• Alert your line manager
• Contact the Alzheimers Society

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Onset of dementia does not mean loss of emotion
and feeling
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Onset of dementia does not mean loss of emotion
and feeling Even if I forget my facts, I
can remember my feelings