28/02/2017
Understanding How AD Changes People—Challenges and Coping Strategies
1. Challenge: changes in communication skills
2. Challenge: changes in personality and behavior
3. Challenge: changes in intimacy and sexuality
older woman adjusting to husband's tie
Alzheimer's disease is an illness of the brain. It causes large numbers of nerve cells in the brain to die. This affects a person's ability to remember things and think clearly. People with AD become forgetful and easily confused. They may have a hard time concentrating and behave in odd ways. These problems get worse as the illness gets worse, making your job as caregiver harder.
It's important to remember that the disease, not the person with AD, causes these changes. Also, each person with AD may not have all the problems we talk about in this book.
The following sections describe the three main challenges that you may face as you care for someone with AD:
changes in communication skills
changes in personality and behavior
changes in intimacy and sexuality
Each section includes information on how to cope with these challenges.
1. Challenge: changes in communication skills
"Talking with Dad is hard. Often, I don't understand what he is trying to say or what he wants. We both get pretty frustrated sometimes."
Communication is hard for people with AD because they have trouble remembering things. They may struggle to find words or forget what they want to say. You may feel impatient and wish they could just say what they want, but they can't. It may help you to know more about common communication problems caused by AD. Once you know more, you'll have a better sense of how to cope.
Here are some communication problems caused by AD:
Trouble finding the right word when speaking
Problems understanding what words mean
Problems paying attention during long conversations
Loss of train-of-thought when talking
Trouble remembering the steps in common activities, such as cooking a meal, paying bills, getting dressed, or doing laundry
