Barrhead hears about dementia at FCSS Harvest Dinner

BARRHEAD – At the FCSS Harvest supper, catered by Sugar and Spice, on Monday, Oct. 21 Lorraine Mills of the Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta and the Northwest Territories spoke to the group about dementia.

Dementia is a term used to refer to symptoms that affect the brain caused by disorders.

“There are over 55 types of dementia. Alzheimer's is just one type,” began Mills.

“Of the people diagnosed with dementia, 60 to 70 per cent are diagnosed specifically with Alzheimer’s disease.”

“Of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 65 per cent of those are women. They don’t know why.”

People can have one or more types of dementia at the same time, referred to as a mixed dementia.

There are medications that can slow the progression of dementia according to Mills.

The diagnosis to categorize what type of dementia a patient has is done through two different types of tests to evaluate what areas of the brain are being affected.

Understanding how the brain functions without a diagnosis is important in relating to what people with dementia go through.

Mills explained an example of when a person brushes their teeth, they go through five to ten steps to complete that task.

A person living with dementia can go through up to 50 steps to accomplish the same task because they may not know it is an expected action to do each day.

They may not know what the toothbrush is or which one to use, what does toothpaste look like, how do you put in on the toothbrush, what is the way to brush teeth, and so on.

People living with dementia may need guidance in daily tasks to recall the muscle memory of doing a regular activity.

Mills detailed that conversations can be overwhelming for people living with dementia because they may not be able to keep up with the pronouns used.

Examining how to make conversation clear for a person living with dementia was clarified with an example.

For example, Bob and Lorraine go to the store. He buys chips and she buys a pop. They went back to work.

When talking to a person living with dementia, it is best to use names, locations, and titles in every sentence. In the example, Bob and Lorraine go to the store. Bob buys chips. Lorraine buys a pop. Bob and Lorraine went back to work.

Mills suggests asking a person living with dementia to explain something the person liked to do.

Asking for the recipe for their chicken soup or asking how to change oil in the car.

By picking things that the person has done through their whole life it can give them great joy and can be used repeatedly to lift spirits of the person living with dementia.

As dementia progresses, short-term memory (seven to 14-day memory) is affected, and that memory loss can start to affect recent years of memory and progress from there.

Processing or decision-making can be overwhelming with a person living with dementia.

For example, when asking a person living with dementia what they want for dinner, give only two choices to alleviate the challenges they may experience, according to Mills.

Areas of cross-communication is another potential challenge for people with dementia.

Going to a restaurant where there is background music, multiple TVs playing different sports, busy or loud customers, waitresses racing around, can be upsetting for a person living with dementia.

Mills talked about the things to consider when a person with dementia attends a family event.

“It is really important that most people attending to understand that ‘Bob’ is going to be in the living room and no more than two people at a time go have very short sentence conversations with them.”

“Be very patient and wait for ‘Bob’ to respond.”

“That way they can take part in the family event.”

The person should be limited in the number of people they are in contact with through the meal, sitting at the head of the table may make this easier on them as per Mills.

The Alzheimer Society is there to support people in their dementia experience as well as for caregivers.

The sooner they are contacted the more they can offer support, techniques and ideas on how to assist people, regardless of their connection to dementia.

Mills clarified that the person we know is still there, dementia has just taken over and to help them be confident in their day-to-day life and help them to not get overwhelmed.

Each person living with dementia will have a unique experience where approaches may not work in every circumstance.

The Alzheimer Society can be reached at (780) 488-2266 or toll-free at 1-866-950-5465 (AB and NWT only).

The email address is [email protected] The website is www.alzheimer.ca/ab

Leah Jackson of FCSS thanked Mills for her presentation and thanked Sugar and Spice for catering the harvest supper.