Unit: Dementia Awareness This unit must be assessed in accordance with Skills for Care and Development’s Assessment Principles. Learning Outcome 1: Understand what dementia is Assessment Criteria 1.1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’ Dementia is a term used to describe a range of signs and symptoms that occur when the brain is affected. Chemical and structural changes in the brain damage and kill brain cells, dementia is a progressive disease and this simply means that the symptoms will gradually get worse. Neurons and synapses become damaged by dementia they may be unable to carry messages that tell a section of the brain what to do.
1.1 Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’. Dementia is a condition which is described by a number of symptoms and is a progressive decline of mental abilities and cognitive function as well as changes in personality, mood, communication and behaviour. Dementia is caused by chemical and structural changes within the brain as well as brain injury. 1.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia. Dementia can affect the following key functions of the brain: - Temporal lobe - Parietal lobe - Frontal lobe - Occipital lobe - Hippocampus - Cerebrum lobe These all affect the function of: -Memory -Emotion -Cognitive skills -Perception -Behaviour -Communication -Senses and movement 1.3 Explain why depression, delirium and age related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia.
Parietal lobe which is responsible for sensory information from the body, also where letters are formed, putting things in order and spatial awareness. Occipital lobe which is responsible for processing information related to vision. Cerebrum lobe which is the biggest part of the Brain, its role is memory, attention, thought, and our consciousness, senses and movement. Lastly there is Hippocampus which is responsible for memory forming, organizing and storing and emotions. 1.3 -Explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia This may be the case because they all share many of the same symptoms as dementia, for example depression can manifest as anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance, changes in appetite, weight loss or occasionally weight gain, fatigue, decreased energy and difficulty concentrating, thinking or making decisions.
Unit 4222-237 Dementia awareness (DEM 201) Outcome 1 1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’. Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal ageing. Unlike Alzheimer’s disease which is a specific change in the brain were a dementia is more of a generic term that can include many conditions and various causes. 2.
DEM-301 Understand the Process and Experience of Dementia 1.1 Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome. Fixed cognitive impairments are due to a single incident. Traumatic brain injury may cause generalised damage to the white matter of the brain or localised damages. A brief reduction in the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain may lead to this type of dementia. A stroke or brain infection can also be the cause of dementia.
Dementia Awareness Understand what dementia is. 1) Dementia is where there is a decline of the brain and its abilities, it is caused when the brain is damaged by disease, for example, Alzheimer’s disease, damage to the brain or a series of strokes. There are several types of dementia these include, vascular, Alzheimer’s, lewy bodies, fronto-temporal. 2) Areas affected by dementia are memory loss, speed of thinking, mental agility, language, understanding and judgement. 3) Other conditions such as depression and delirium both have similar symptoms as dementia.
2.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia. Key functions of the brain are affected by dementia, conditions will deteriorate as dementia is a progressive brain disease. The main areas of the brain that are affected by dementia in terms of causing difficulties with their functions are: 1) Frontal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls behaviour, movement, personality and the interpretation of what is around us 2) Parietal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls the language we use, spacial awareness and recognition of places, objects and people. 3) Occipital Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls eyesight and our ability to see 4) Temporal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls our speech, hearing and memory Below are the normal and affected conditions of the brain; Key functions of the brain affected by dementia | Normal Brain Function | Effects of dementia on Brain Function | * The brain is made up of billions of cells. Each cell sends messages to many other cells that send messages to our body * Most cells in the brain are called neurons * Neurons communicate with each other by passing an electrical signal down their arms (axons) * This leads to a release of chemical at the ‘fingertips’ * At the end of the axon (at the fingertips) there is a gap, known as a synapse – message passes on by shooting out a special chemical across the synapse and in to the
Understanding the neurology of dementia 1a Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome. Causes of dementia include: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular (multi-Infarct) disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, fronto-temporal dementia (including pick’s disease), alcohol-related dementia (including Korsakoff’s syndrome) and Aids-related dementia. Dementia is caused by damage to the brain cells. The brain is built up of different areas that is responsible for different functions i.e. memory, judgement and movement.
For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new. Concussions are a leading cause to anterograde amnesia. It is also a very common type amongst elderly people battling for of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. In cases of anterograde amnesia, the damage resides in areas of the hippocampus,
UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA Task A 1. For each of the following forms of dementia, describe: • How is the brain affected • The symptoms an individual might experience. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease. Most patients start exhibiting symptoms after they reach the age of 60. Alzheimer's disease affects the brain through exponentially greater cell death and tissue loss, resulting in a decreased brain size.