Symptoms of Alzheimer's often Misunderstood
The way people attribute the symptoms of dementia have been investigated in a study (2004) by Kate Johnson and Rachel Maidment, postgraduate students at the Institute of Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital in the UK. They interviewed 205 caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, 12% who were professional caregivers. They were asked to identify which symptom or behavior they found the most troubling. Most thought short term memory loss the worst, but aggression, apathy, delusions and hallucinations were also seen as problematic. What was so interesting was that most of the caregivers, although they were aware of the diagnosis, still thought the symptoms were signs of normal aging, poor diet, denial, attention seeking, loneliness or sexual frustration.
Caregivers then rated the perceived amount of control the person with dementia had over the difficult behavior. One quarter thought the person with dementia had complete control, others thought they had voluntary control for 'at least part of the time'.
The researchers also asked the caregivers about the prognosis of the person with dementia. Although nearly all understood the person would not get better or return to normal, 10% thought a full recovery was possible or even probable.
The findings do suggest that there are a lot of misconception about Alzheimer's, even when a diagnosis had been explained to caregivers. It is known from other research that when people believe that a person has no control over symptoms they are more likely to get help and assistance. This study does highlight the need for caregivers, both professional and family members to receive more information about the nature of Alzheimer's disease. Kate Johnson and Rachel Maidment believe that face to face discussions as well as written material is needed to get the message to caregivers. People with Alzheimer's disease do not choose to be aggressive, do not choose to be forgetful.
