Dementia is a brain disease that affects one out of five families in drastic and devastating ways. Dementia is a general term for a decline in cognitive function severe enough to interfere with daily life. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, characterized by progressive memory loss, confusion, and changes in behavior and personality. It is a degenerative brain disease that worsens over time, impacting a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Left with few choices, the caregiver, often a spouse or adult child must take over the exhausting and overwhelming task of tending to the needs of someone whose brain is dying.
In the following video from Skagit Adult Day Program’s 2013 Spring Luncheon, Teepa Snow, MS, ORT/L, FAOTA educates and entertains her audience on the challenges facing caregivers and struggles of dementia victims.
For more information on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias here are some resources: