4222-237 Dementia Awareness

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Unit 237 Outcome 1. 1. Dementia is a label given to a range of conditions that involve loss of mental ability. The term dementia describes symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions. These include Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Dementia is progressive and symptoms will gradually get worse. Speed of progression will vary from person to person. Dementia is an individual experience. 2. Dementia is caused by neurons not working properly or dying. This often changes the amount of the neurotransmitters with obvious effects on brain functions. Small blood vessels in the brain become blocked preventing oxygen reaching nearby brain cells. This causes a gradual decline in mental ability. The key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia are the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebrum lobe and the hippocampus 3. Depression, delirium and age related memory impairment share a lot of the symptoms of dementia. For instance with depression their memory may be affected and they may find it difficult to retain new information, also it is quite common for people to become forgetful as they age. This may be why people mistake them for dementia. Outcome 2 1. The medical model focuses on the impairment as the problem and focuses on a cure, Dementia as a clinical syndrome is characterised by global cognitive impairment, which represents a decline from previous level of functioning, and is associated with impairment in functional abilities and, in many cases, behavioural and psychiatric disturbances. 2. The social model regards Dementia as an impairment, where a marked difference can be made to quality of life by the way people with dementia are supported, and through their built and social environment 3. Individuals that have dementia are not aware of requirements for living. They can forget to do

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