PCognitive psychology is a scientific world to describe the actions of how we think, learn, and memorize certain information. We often go into the store telling ourselves that we only need one item and end up coming out with twice the amount of items we had in mind, except for the one that we really needed. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is known as a case of memory loss that can involve rehabilitation but it is not something that can be cured. In most cases those who suffer from memory loss can be diagnosed for years or lifelong. On average half of adults who reach the age 85 have Alzheimer’s, often enough more than 5.4 million Americans suffering with the disease may not realize they have it. Reason behind it is because it's difficult detecting early stage Alzheimer’s as many symptoms go unnoticed not only by the one who is suffering but those who are around them as well.
We have often come across memory, neurocognition, reminiscence therapy. Each of these plays a specific part in Alzheimer’s and dementia. For example, neurocognition is due to physical change that have occurred in the brain after drug use, brain injury and more. Often enough physical therapist deal with these patients during rehabilitation not only are they rehabilitating their body, but their mind as well. Correspondingly, reminiscence therapy is used as it is a method to improve past skills such as: writing or oral. This can be a result those with Alzheimer’s or dementia experience as this therapy is often used with older people.
Unfortunately there is no cure for Alzheimer’s or dementia although many are using medication to stop it from progressing and lessening the symptoms. There’s two type of drugs that have been approved: cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. It was stated Alzheimer’s association that “ as Alzheimer’s progresses, brain cells die and connections amount cells are lost, causing cognitive symptoms to worsen. While current medication cannot stop the damage Alzheimer’s causes to brain cells, they may help lessen or stabilize symptoms for a limited time by affecting certain chemicals involved in carrying messages among the brain’s nerve cells” (www.alz.org) It’s unfortunate to know that Alzheimer’s and dementia is irreversible and medication can only slow the process of gifting them one day more with their memory as it slowly fades over time.
While at Dakota University I was given the privilege of engaging with someone who had Alzheimer’s. My experience with visiting Assisted Living in Mitchell, South Dakota was unforgettable and life changing. I do not have a positive nor negative attitude towards those who suffer from memory loss as it is something that saddens me as those who suffer from it cannot control it, most often they do not realize they have it. When the assignment was presented I thought it was going to be difficult. In some wrong way I thought that they would be rude towards a person of color as I thought they were stuck in the time of when racism was most alive. I also thought that they would not remember anything but visiting Assisted Living changed all of my points and views.
I was given the privilege of having a one on one with one of the patients. Our goal was to create a memory booked. Within this album we placed pictures and items that would jog the patients memory. I was given the pleasure of working with Louis a sweet women with a warm smile but timid around new people. Her memory was amazing that if I would’ve encountered her in a another environment I would have never assumed that she has memory loss problems. Louis was raised in Chamberlain, South Dakota on a farm with her siblings as she spoke about her childhood and mentioning growing corn, pig, and cattle I couldn’t help but notice a smile from ear to ear. She was able to recall her three daughters and the names as well. Not to mention, Louis had no problem identifying her parents or husband. Although, there was one picture where she could not name a person as she kept changing the name every time she was asked if she was able to find those who were in the picture with her. Within my group we decided not to show her the album until it was completed, after a long journey of collecting information with Louis we can present a complete album of her child hood farm, family, cousins and more. As she flipped through she was able to name the action of the picture as she giggled. What was most surprising was her excitement of naming her parents ever time she saw them in photos by repeating their name more than once. Overall was great working with Louis she was able to keep my attitude on a positive note.
Although I did grow some frustration when she wouldn’t talk and I question if that’s how she was raised or maybe she was just frightened. For example, I would ask her to find her husband in a picture and she would remain silent, I would ask her multiply times in different tone of voices some with a stronger volume other with a moderate tone, but still she would not answer. I thought to change this negative into a positive and ask her something of her interest which was quilting. She proudly showed me all her stitching and finish project and chatted up a storm. When I gained her confidence I asked her about her husband she remained at silence once again, which I found strange. The slightest participation can be life changing and it certainly was for me. For many factors as it changed my view in memory as I sat there in sadness in how many of us take granted in our memory when those who are suffering with memory loss are happy with recognizing familiar faces. In fact, many of these patients are isolated that they don’t receive many visitors as they are often forgotten by their own family’s and people such as myself. Their was one patient who cried of happiness when she heard word of young students coming to visit and just to talk to them. I've also was given the pleasure of meeting someone whose memory was as sharp as a knife and was actually being moved into another home that was better suited for him. Also experienced talking to a woman who happened to work in a dinner in California and was able to tell me every single detail about it. It was a great pleasure to experience the Assessing Living as you were able to see the different type of cases with Alzheimer’s. I may sound biases but I had believe for them to all be the same when they were in fact not.
This experiences affects my future personal relationships with my grandmother. Coming from a big family I’ve been called all of my cousins, brothers, aunts and uncles name before my name came across. At first it was fine but over the years I’ve only heard her say certain words. Not to mention where we have had conversations and she had stop mid way because she had forgotten what she was going to say. As for professionally I plan on working with assisting clients who need physical rehabilitation often enough I will experience those who had a terrible wreck that involved a head trauma. This allows me to perceive a way that the client remembers what happened and what exercises to do and so on.
Within the course goals and learning outcome we wanted to be able to meet: describing key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology, adopting values that build community at local, national, and global levels. Interact effectively with others. I think we did a well job targeting these goals. For example, we were able to interact effectively not only within our group but with out patient as well. Three things I would want to learn more about as a result of this experience would be knowing which ethnic group is at a higher risk and why. As it is seen more in people of color and women. How to risk cognitive decline as their in no way to cure Alzheimer’s disease are there possibly healthier lifestyle habits that can cut and slow down the process. Lastly, I would like to closely focus on early on symptoms. As they usually develop slowly and worsen over time it’s a benefit to recognize it early on and attempt to slow the process down.
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