DEMENTIA

Dementia

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion1

Causes of Dementia2

Symptoms of Dementia2

Diagnosis of Dementia3

Occupational Therapy Treatment for Patients with Dementia3

Caring for People with Dementia4

Conclusion5

References6

Dementia

Introduction

Dementia has a strong impact on the family (Hughes, Berg, Danzinger, Coben & Martin 2002, p. 147). Often, families enter the world of disease and psychosocial disability without a map and often need a guide who will provide support and confirm that they are managing the disease normally. Family therapy is emerging as a major contribution to try to promote adaptation to a new reality and finding a new equilibrium (Hughes, Berg, Danzinger, Coben & Martin 2002, p. 147).

Discussion

As people progress through dementia, they become more and more compromised in their ability to carry out basic and instrumental activities of daily living. As their abilities decrease, they become less able to process and interpret environmental stimuli (including screening out irrelevant and attending to salient stimuli) and formulate an action plan that leads to successful task completion (Auer & Reisberg 2006, p. 14).

The frustrations of being unable to complete a requested or desired task can lead to behaviors that further interfere with the ability to complete the task, create a risk for safety, and disturb others who share the environment with the individual (Auer & Reisberg 2006, p. 14). The inability to accurately interpret environmental stimuli can also lead to behaviors that interfere with task completion, safety, or disturb others.

As individuals with Dementia become increasingly demented, they commonly withdraw from engagement in meaningful occupations (Auer & Reisberg 2006, p. 14). While not a new idea, modern society is just beginning to realize the importance of engagement in occupation to quality of life. Humans are occupational beings and the lack of meaningful occupations has been associated with poor health, such as maladaptive behavior patterns, depression, and stress-related medical problems. In those with dementia, an abundance of unstructured time can lead to increased behavior problems (Auer & Reisberg 2006, p. 14). The key is to structure the environment, routines, and tasks so that they support the individual's ability to engage successfully in meaningful occupations.

Causes of Dementia

About 15% of strokes are caused by cerebral hemorrhage, which is a rupture of a blood vessel with destruction of brain tissue by the ensuing torrent of blood. Cerebral infarction is usually caused by atherosclerosis, but sometimes it is caused by a sudden fall in blood pressure that reduces a precarious blood supply through a narrowed vessel to a level insufficient to keep that particular part of the brain alive. Cerebral infarction has been identified as increasing one's risk for incidence of depressive illness (Galvin 2006, p. 15).

Multi-infarct dementia patients typically have a history of previous strokes. Age of onset of multi-infarct dementia is typically between 50 and 70 years of age, with an average age of 66 years, and appears more commonly in men than women (Galvin 2006, p. 15). The main risk factors for a stroke are high blood pressure, obesity and heavy alcohol use. Smoking, diabetes, and raised blood cholesterol are also considered ...