Unit 4222 Dementia awareness 2

Unit 4222-237 Dementia awareness (DEM 201)
Outcome 1
1. Dementia is not an illness or disease in itself , but is a broad term which describes a range of signs and symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by certain disease and conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia.
2.
AREA OF THE BRAIN
KEY FUNCTIONING that could be affected by dementia
Frontal lobe
Movement , emotional behaviour , personality interpretation and feeling
Parietal lobe
Language , spacial awareness and recognition
Temporal lobe
Long-term memory,speech and hearing
Occipital lobe
Vision
Cerebellum
Balance , posture muscle coordination
Hypothalamus
Regulates thirst,apetite,body temperature and also sleep cycles and patterns of sleeps
Thalamus
Muscle movement and processing sensory information
Hipocampus
Processes recent memories into stored memory
Limbic system
Emotions and smell.

3. Depression – a condition which can be triggered by life events and can be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. A person who is depressed can often show similar symptoms to a person who has dementia. This is because deprssion affects: concentration , motivation and ability to manage everyday tasks.
Delirium often develops quickly and i usually reversible. It is a medical condition that can cause : hallucinations and delusions , problems with thinking and se vere confusion. A person who has delirium show similar symptoms to a person who has dementia.
Age related memory impairment – a normal part of the ageing process. As people get older,chnges occur to all part of the body includind in the brain.as a result , somepeople may notice that it takes longer to learn new things , they do not remember information as well as they did. However, this age related forgetfulness can often be mistaken as an early sign of dementia.

Outcome 2
1. The medical model of demenia describes dementia as an organic brain disorder that the causes impaired cognitive abilities about which nothing can be done. This model seeks to create dependency,restrict choices and diempowr as it promotes the view that th person with dementia is the problem as the individual cannot function normally and therefore needs to be cared for by profrssional experts. 2. The social model of demetia focuses on the individual and seeks to ensure the person’s skills and capabilitis are retained. The social model of dementia includes uderstanding the experience of living with dementia and emphasising relantion-building and invividualised care. The socila model of care seeks to understand emotions and behaviour of the person by focusing on his or her social circumstances and biography.
3. People with dementia share a range of disabilities characterised by rhe progressive loss of mental ability. The individual experience difficulty communicating or completing everyday activities such as managing finances,shopping or food preparation. As the dementia progresses,basic functions such as mobility ,continence,sleeping and personal care may also be affected.
Outcome 3
1. a) Alheimer’s desease – during the course of thr desease a number of significant chemical and structural changes occur within the brain , there are :
• Loss of brain cells
• Signifiant shrinkage of brain tissue
• Neurofibrillary tangles
• Amyloid plaques (are partly made of dead cells which contains tangles). b) Vascular dementia it is caused by problems in th supply of blood to the brain. Typically,the symptoms of vascular dementia begin suddenly for example, after a stroke. c) Dementia with Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies are tiny spherical protein depositsfound in the nerve cells. Their presence in the brain disrupts the brain’s normal functioning interrupting the action of important cheical messengers. Researchers have yet to understand fully why Lewy bodies occur in the brain and how they cause damage.
2.
Alzheimer’s disease –the person may:
Be midly forgetful
Have problems finding the right words
Lose interst in hobbies
Lack concentration.
As the disease progresses the person may:
Become aggresive
Have troble recognising family or friends
Lose their sense of time and place.
During the later stages the individual may:
Become completely dependent on others
Experience difficulty with eating and drinking
Have roblems with continece.

Vascular dementia – people may particularly experience:
Problems with speed of thinking , concentration and communication
Depression and anxiety
Symptoms of a stroke
Seizure periods of severe confusion
Problems with continence
Changes in behaviour.
Fronto-temporal dementia – the individual may:
Lose ability to empathise with others
Behave inappropriately
Lose their inhibitions
Be easily distracted Dementia with Lewy bodies – the individual may:
Experienced detailed and convincing visual hallucinations
Find that their abilities fluctuate daily or even hourly.
They may also develop the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including slowness, muscle stiffness ,trembling o the limbs, loose of facial expression and chnages in the strength and tone of voice.

3.
Type of dementia
Risk factors
Alzheimer’s disease
It is likely a combination of factors including age,genetic inheritance,environmental factors or lifestyle.
Vascular dementia
A family history of stroke or cardiovascular diease,a lack of physical activity driking more than recomended level of alcohol , smoking , high blood pressure.
Dementia with Lewy bodies
Being older than 60,being male, gentic inheritance
Fronto-temporal dementia including Pick’s disease
Evidenc suggest that there is a genetic risk of develoing fronto-temporal dementia.

4.
Prelevance rate for different typs of dementia
a) Alzheimer’s disease 62%
b) Vascular dementia 17%
c) Mixed dementia 10%
d) Dementi with Lewy bodies 4%
e) Fronto-temporal dementia 2%

Outcome 4
1. Age - being diagnosed with dementia at any age can be distressing , but it is particularly so for younger people. Although the symptoms of dementia are similar whatever a person’s age, younger people with dementia may , for example , have dependent children , find it more difficult to rationalise losing skills at such young age or find it more difficult to access appropriate imformation and support.
Different types of dementia
The individual’s experience with dementia will also depend on the extent of neurological impairment. Every person with dementia will,therefore,have varying degrees of damage to the brain. In addition,the rate at which the person’s dementia deteriorateswill vary from one person to another. This will affect the individual’s level of functioning as a part of the brain severely damaged in one person may remain intact in another,even though they have the same form of dementia.
Ability/disability
A person’s physical health can affect their experience of dementia as some of the symptoms of dementia can be made worse by other physical difficulties, for example if a person suffers from constipation or an infecion.

2. It is clear to see that the negetive attitudes towards dementia people such as (ignoring mockery disempowerment, infantilisation or invalidation)can only serve to further disable people. In contract to malignant social psychology , person-centred care aims to break down the barriers and negative attitudes that sometimes exist within health and social care. These positive attitudes are :empowerring enabling, raise self-esteem and can help people with dementia feel good about themselves.