There are different types of dementia which are characterised by different symptoms. Perhaps the most commonly known type is Alzheimer’s Disease.
In general dementia can affect a person’s ability to:
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Remember
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Think and reason
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Learn
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Recall
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Communicate
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Recognise objects
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Plan
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Sequence
Therefore it can impact on a person’s ability to carry out their daily living tasks.
Speech and language therapy
Speech and language therapists are important in treatment as the condition can bring with it problems in communicating as well as possible problems with eating and drinking.
ITV’s Tonight programme: Living with Dementia
In ITV’s Tonight programme: Living with Dementia, which was broadcast on May 7th, Fiona Foster tackles the issues of learning to live with the disease.
The programme looked at new ways of treating the condition and reinforced the fact that dementia is a disease and not just a symptom of old age
There are now about 800,000 people in the UK with dementia and one in three people will develop the condition. That means almost everyone will be affected in some way, be it themselves or through someone they know. By 2021 it is estimated there will be 1 million sufferers in the UK.
After calling it a national crisis the Government has pledged to double its budget into research. The G8 summit which was held in November last year pledged to find a cure by 2025.
Heartbreaking condition
The programme shows how Becky’s grandmother can no longer cope with living on her own because of the disease. She described how her memory started to fade away and that she could no longer remember Becky’s dad. She struggled to understand what was happening to her when she had to leave her own home.
Real life stories
Margaret, who cares for her husband Jim with dementia, says the stress is enormous. “I think of him just lying there and staring into space – I think it’s dreadful, when he’s worked so hard all his life.”
Ted, 76, has vascular dementia and his wife Kate could no longer cope with caring for him. She describes how he used to be a fun, entertaining and intelligent man and that their wedding day was the best day of her life. But now verbal contact is very minimal and his speech is like an alien language.
Nora was a post war mum and went on to become a pharmacist. Now she lives in a special flat where she can’t wander away.
Her daughter Ronnie says: “She was so looking forward to her twilight years and now they’re gone.”
See next week’s posts for information on the causes of dementia.
Resources
To watch the ITV programme got to: www.ITV.com
For more information go to: www.alzheimers.org.uk
Written by Rachel Harrison
Speech and Language Therapist
On behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. www.integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk
