Cognitive changes that can be seen in the elderly are memory loss. There is short term memory loss, where a person cannot recall what they might had for dinner the night before, or directions that were just given to them are just some examples. Long term memory loss is when a person cannot recall their parents’ name, place they lived, or an event that might of happened months ago are examples of long term memory loss. Cognitive changes happen all across the life span. As we age, we will have a decline in cognition. Cognition is the ability to think, to understand, and memory recall.
The information given about K.B leads me to believe that he has dementia. Dementia indicates problems with brain functions. Memory loss, impaired judgment, and the inability to perform some daily activities are signs of dementia. Mr. K.B was forgetful at times. He was having some memory problems over time. He was doing things out of the ordinary, putting sugar in the refrigerator, and the milk in the cupboard. His behavior is why I think he has dementia.
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Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. People may develop symptoms after age 60. Some people may have early-onset forms of the disease do to a defective gene. Alzheimer's disease usually progresses slowly over about eight to 10 years. The cognitive abilities slowly decline. The affected areas of the brain includes memory, language, judgment, and spatial abilities. Another type of dementia is Lewy body dementia. It affects approximately 10 percent of people with dementia, making it one of the most common types of dementia. Lewy body dementia becomes more common with age. Lewy body dementia symptoms are similar to symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Its unique features include fluctuations between confusion and clear thinking (lucidity), visual hallucinations, and tremor and rigidity (Parkinsonism) (Dementia.
Lewy body dementia –memory loss, hallucination, difficulties with mobility, muscle stiffness, shaking and dizziness, problems with sleeping.
People with Lewy body dementia may experience visual hallucinations, and changes in alertness and attention. Other symptoms include
Memory loss-forgetting information really easy,Trouble planning and problem solving, Daily tasks,Times and places are confusing,Changes in Vision,Words and conversations are frustrating.Memory loss means forgetting information really easy. Trouble planning and problem solving turns tricky to follow a recipe, even one you’ve used many times. Is it hard to concentrate on detailed tasks that involves numbers. Daily tasks are a challenge ,familiar things can become hard. You have trouble driving to a location you go to often. Times and places are confusing get disoriented, get lost easily and forget where you are ,and how you got there.Changes in Vision makes it harder to read the words on the page.You have trouble judging distance,and can’t tell colors
The older person that I interviewed was my great-grandfather, Kay Wilson. He is eighty-three years old and is currently retired, living at home. Wilson was born on February 27, 1934 and raised in Sylacauga, AL by his mother. His father was not active in his life, but his grandparents were his main caretakers growing up.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time. It can become severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Allie Hamilton is suffering from dementia.
Part two will explain the most common types of dementia that many older people are diagnosed with.
Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley (2013) described dementia as a progressive disorder that displays a deterioration of functioning and has a gradual onset. There are many different disorders that are known to cause dementia. Butcher et al. (2013) stated some of the causes to be strokes, infectious diseases, dietary deficiencies, head trauma, and degenerative brain diseases. The most common, and notable cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease (Butcher et. al., 2013).
“…a group of symptoms that are caused by changes in brain function. Dementia symptoms may include asking the same questions repeatedly; becoming lost in familiar places; being unable to follow directions; getting disoriented about time, people, and places; and neglecting personal safety, hygiene, and nutrition. People with dementia lose their abilities at different rates.”
In the field of Psychology you can find an abundance of mental disorders that can have an affect on people all throughout the world. Out of all the mental disorders that can be found around the world, some of them are more well-known and more widespread than others. The following disorders could be described as being well-known and widespread disorders: depression, bi-polar disorder, Alzheimer's, and OCD, which could also be called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. All of these mental disorders can be very dangerous and possibly deadly if people don't receive the proper care in order to be able to contain these disorders. Out of these very dangerous and possibly deadly disorders, I believe that Alzheimer's is the most interesting disorder. I think that Alzheimer's is the most interesting disorder, because I think we have the least about of knowledge of the Alzheimer's disorder. As a society we still to this day don't have a cure that totally stops this disorder.
Alzheimer’s disease if the most common type of dementia, and contributes to 60-70 percent of dementia cases (WHO). Patients with Alzheimer’s disease often show problems with memory, judgment, and thinking. “One in ten people over 65 years of age, and over half of those over 85 have Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, 26 million people worldwide have this dementia, and over 15 million Americans will be affected by the year 2050” (HelpGuide). There are other types of dementia; one is dementia with Lewy bodies, which is very similar to Alzheimer’s disease. The only difference between Lewy body and Alzheimer’s is that Lewy can cause hallucinations. Another form of dementia is a group of diseases that contribute to front temporal dementia, which is also called Picks disease. Picks disease affects personality, behavior, and orientation. This type usually occurs at a younger age, and in women. Another type of dementia that is common is Vascular dementia, which often occurs after a person has had multiple strokes, or changes in the body’s blood supply. Vascular dementia impacts memory and cognitive functioning. Often times, a person usually has a mix of these forms. Dementia can be caused by many different diseases and injuries that affect the brain; such as having Alzheimer’s disease or by having a stroke. Often times, doctors can not determine exactly what type of dementia a person has, since they often show the same
One of the most common problems in elders is dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association describes dementia as a range of symptoms rather than just one single specific disease. The symptoms of dementia range from memory loss as well as a decline in thinking skills to severe symptoms that lead to the decline of that person’s ability to perform activities of daily living (What
The disease manifestation of dementia is classified as the cognitive impairment and the non- cognitive impairment. For cognitive impairment, it mainly covers five types of impairment which include the impairment of memory function, attention and concentration, orientation, executive function and also language skills. It is identified that Tommy has four types of those excluding the language skill impairment which characterized by aphasia. For impaired memory function, it is found that he has impairment of episodic short-term memory. The symptom caused him find hard
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
When elderly people move into the last of life’s eight stages of psychosocial development, they enter the ego-integrity-versus-despair stage. This process is defined by looking back over someone’s life, evaluating it, then accepting it. People who become successful in this stage feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Erikson refers to this acceptance as integrity. This differs from generativity because one is accepting the end of their life, instead of accepting where their life will start in a sense of career and self. However, if one is to look back on their life with dissatisfaction, they may feel they have been cheated or missed opportunities. Such individuals will mostly be depressed or angry about the way life turned out and
As you age, cognitive change is a normal process. Abilities like reasoning, memory, and the speed you process something gradually decrease over time. The reason cognitive functions decrease are because your blood vessels narrow and become less stretchy. This might cause blood flow to the brain and other important organs to decrease. An elderly person's blood pressure may also get higher or lower.