Faces of Dementia Elderly Care Ministry

What is Dementia? A non-specific syndrome Collection of symptoms that do not necessarily have the same cause Can contain many symptoms Can look different in different people Can set in immediately (as a result of injury) Can set in slowly (as a result of illness e.g. Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s)

Symptoms & Facets Memory Loss Lack of Apathy Short-term Long-term Attention Planning Flexibility Semantic memory Apathy

Symptoms & Facets Language Problems Difficulty producing names of people or objects Vague or meaningless speech (“thing”, “it”) Long, circumlocutory phrases Comprehension problems Echolalia: echoing what is heard Palilalia: repeating sounds or words

Symptoms & Facets Apraxia: problems with motor coordination Cooking, dressing, drawing Agnosia: failure to recognize or identify objects People, faces, known or mundane objects, their own faces Executive Functioning

Symptoms & Facets Executive Functioning Difficulty with problem solving Difficulty initiating or stopping complex behavior FACT: 20%-30% of people who have dementia suffer from depression

Symptoms & Facets There is generally no cure for dementia as a result of chronic illness In addition to the cognitive and motor impairments of dementia, the individual may be cognizant enough to know that something is happening to them and they are declining. As a result, they may be very scared, angry, depressed, or bitter.

Suggestions Follow their conversation and do not react or try to correct them when things do make sense, or they say the same thing over and over again. They may say very insensitive things, or use an inappropriate amount of emotion when speaking. Track with them and roll with their emotion. Do not react to their inappropriate expressions or affect.

Suggestions They may not talk at all, in which case you can do the talking. You can introduce yourself, tell them about yourself, summarize the message, offer to read a Bible passage to them, give a gospel presentation, or tell them your testimony.

Suggestions They may even make motions to touch or strike you. Roll with their motions and turn it into something positive (demonstration)