Managing The Behavioral And Communication Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disorder that affects an estimated 5.3 million people in the United States. The disease affects that way a person feels, thinks and behaves.
The affected individual may also become aggressive, antagonistic, suspicious and depressed. And because the diseases’ symptoms are caused by the destruction of brain cells, the ones afflicted can’t control or prevent the onset of these behaviors, and it certainly can cause stress and frustration for those caring for these people.
How The Disease Affects The Brain
Alzheimer’s disease ravages the cells of the brain. Because the brain is the focal point for our thoughts, personality, emotions and behavior, when a person is afflicted with Alzheimer’s, it has a large effect on the way the person thinks, feels and does. The disease affects different parts of the brain at different rates. Once the disease progresses, it unleashes an array of cognitive and behavioral defects.
Among the common behavioral problems include uncontrolled aggression, agitation, depression, suspicion, and frequent wandering. The cognitive problems include problems with speech, memory, remembering words and names, and others. The behavioral problems are caused by damage to the brain, and cannot be easily kept in check, or controlled even by your family member or caregiver.
Caregivers and family members need to keep in mind that any hurtful or harmful behavior shown by an affected individual is not brought about by the person’s actual feelings, but is brought forth by changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer’s. The key to effectively managing the changing behavior of an afflicted individual, is to fully understand the brain’s behavior, so that you‘ll have a non-judgmental and more sympathetic approach to the patient.
Managing Communication Deficiencies
Whenever you’re caring for a family member or relative who has Alzheimer’s, you’ll most likely notice that your friend or loved one has problems communicating with you. People who are suffering from Alzheimer’s generally lose the ability to communicate properly during the early, middle, and late stages of the disorder.
During the early stages, the person may have problems concentrating, and may be required to slowly follow a conversation. He or she may also have a hard time staying on one topic, and may easily get frustrated, and may also require some time to think of a verbal response.
During the middle stages, the person will exhibit difficulty in understanding long conversations, as well as with reading magazines or books. He or she will also have problems with interpreting facial expressions, and will also have issues with finishing sentences, as well with raising or lowering their voices.
During Alzheimer’s late stages, the individual will have problems understanding the meaning of most words, and will have more problems with using proper grammar. In some instances, the person will actually become mute, or will lose the ability or desire to speak. The person will then lose interest in others, and will begin to look like he or she is living in a different realm.