dementia awareness
DEMENTIA AWARENESS
Explain what is meant by the term Dementia
The term 'dementia ' describes a set of symptoms which include loss of memory, mood changes, processing information and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain diseases, including Alzheimer 's disease and damage caused by a series of small strokes. Dementia affects older and younger people and the decline in the person will get worse as more brain cells are damaged or die.
Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia:
The main areas of the brain that are affected by dementia in terms of causing difficulties with their functions are:
• Frontal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls behaviour, movement, personality and the interpretation of what is around us.
• Parietal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls the language we use, spacial awareness and recognition of places, objects and people.
• Occipital Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls eyesight and our ability to see.
• Temporal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls our speech, hearing and memory.
Explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia
Depression can sometimes be mistaken for dementia because with dementia a person’s behaviour and feeling of well-being can change and cause the person to appear withdrawn and this for example might be mistaken for depression. However, if the person is depressed then it could be the depression not the dementia causing them ill-being.
Delirium for example can be brought on as a result of an infection and this might be mistaken with dementia because for example the person could become confused and suffer with memory loss which are also signs and symptoms of dementia.
It is very similar for age-related memory impairment; if someone becomes forgetful they might think or others might think they have dementia
Explain what is meant by the term Dementia
The term 'dementia ' describes a set of symptoms which include loss of memory, mood changes, processing information and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain diseases, including Alzheimer 's disease and damage caused by a series of small strokes. Dementia affects older and younger people and the decline in the person will get worse as more brain cells are damaged or die.
Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia:
The main areas of the brain that are affected by dementia in terms of causing difficulties with their functions are:
• Frontal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls behaviour, movement, personality and the interpretation of what is around us.
• Parietal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls the language we use, spacial awareness and recognition of places, objects and people.
• Occipital Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls eyesight and our ability to see.
• Temporal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls our speech, hearing and memory.
Explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia
Depression can sometimes be mistaken for dementia because with dementia a person’s behaviour and feeling of well-being can change and cause the person to appear withdrawn and this for example might be mistaken for depression. However, if the person is depressed then it could be the depression not the dementia causing them ill-being.
Delirium for example can be brought on as a result of an infection and this might be mistaken with dementia because for example the person could become confused and suffer with memory loss which are also signs and symptoms of dementia.
It is very similar for age-related memory impairment; if someone becomes forgetful they might think or others might think they have dementia