Reading in the Late Stages of Dementia Some people in the middle-to-late stages of Alzheimer's seem to enjoy paging through a familiar magazine from when they were younger, or from their career. Others may enjoy listening to someone else read out loud, or looking through a book together.
Reading aloud, whether to someone else or even to oneself, activates the frontal cortex and may have a role in helping to rehabilitate the cognitive functions of Alzheimer patients.
Keeping an active social life, regular exercise, and continuing activities the person enjoys, or finding new ones, can help to reduce behaviours that are out of character. Read more about activities for dementia. Other things that can help include: providing reassurance.
Playing music, having objects to touch and interact with, and hand massage can all help people with dementia in the later stages. Playlist for Life is a music and dementia charity. It promotes how music with personal meaning can help people with dementia.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
Individuals with dementia often have anxiety which can make them feel nervous, worried, or cause them to not want to be left alone or out of sight of their caregivers.
However, a person in the advanced stages of dementia can still experience emotions such as loneliness, boredom or frustration. A person might no longer be able to move independently or hold a conversation.
It's not uncommon for a person with dementia to experience an increase in cravings for sugary foods, leading to consumption of excessive quantities of sweets, chocolate and cakes. According to Alzheimer's Association, taste buds can diminish when the disease takes hold.
Receiving a life-changing dementia diagnosis doesn't strip a person of their humanity or personhood. People with dementia think about the same things that any human thinks about — emotions, relationships, daily life, tasks to accomplish, and more.
Someone recently diagnosed with dementia is likely to experience a range of emotions. These may include grief, loss, anger, shock, fear, disbelief and even relief. Sometimes people experience positive reactions when they receive a diagnosis of dementia.
Being active, eating a better diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, keeping normal blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and having low blood sugar in middle age may all lower the chances of developing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease later in life, research suggests.
After the death of each adult in the study, at the average age of 89, autopsies showed that those who were avid readers experienced 30% less memory loss and had the least physical signs of dementia. Reading essentially lowered the risk and onset of dementia in those who participated in the study.
Alzheimer's disease progressively destroys brain cells over time, so during the early stages of dementia, many do recognize something is wrong, but not everyone is aware. They may know they are supposed to recognize you, but they can't.
People in the early stages of dementia may understand their diagnosis and its implications. However, it is important to note that dementia affects every person differently and that symptoms vary between people. In the later stages of dementia, individuals may not be aware of their condition.
Some of the more common triggers for dementia like a change in environment, having personal space invaded, or being emotionally overwhelmed may be easier to handle if you mentally practice your response before you react.
People with dementia can still have nice feelings too. They can feel happy, safe and calm. Some people with dementia may seem like their usual self a lot of the time and you may only notice small changes every now and then. Some people with dementia may not have as many good days.
Many people like things done a certain way. But people in the early stages of dementia may exhibit strange obsessive-compulsive behaviors, such as locking doors over and over, or buying a can of corn every time they visit the store, even though they have a cupboard-full at home. OCD and dementia can go hand in hand.
Some people with dementia choose to live alone. You may feel happier and more in control in your own home, where you can keep your routines and stay in your community. Keeping your independence may also be important to you. Some people live alone because of their circumstances.
People with dementia who live alone, and who experience social isolation, depression and lower quality of life are more likely to feel lonely.
A new publication released by the Alzheimer's Society today reports that 38% of people with dementia say that they are lonely, with a further 12% reporting they do not know if they are lonely. More than two-thirds (70%) of people with dementia have stopped doing things that they used to do after diagnosis.
Over time, the disease causing the dementia spreads to other parts of the brain. This leads to more symptoms because more of the brain is unable to work properly. At the same time, already-damaged areas of the brain become even more affected, causing symptoms the person already has to get worse.
Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.