November 2022 is National Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Awareness Month!

What is the treatment for AD?

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What is Alzheimer’s Disease? AD is the most common cause of dementia. It is a progressive disease that affect parts of the brain that controls thought, memory and language. Eventually individuals with AD will be unable to carry out their activities of daily living (ADLs).

‍Who gets AD? In the general population AD generally starts after the age of sixty. However individuals with an intellectual disability(ID) can show symptoms of AD at a much younger age. Symptoms of AD may be present for individuals in their forties. The National Task Group (NTG) in Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices produced the NTG Early Detection and Screen for Dementia(EDSD) tool. It is recommended that this should be completed for individuals with Down syndrome at the age of forty.

What are the symptoms of AD?

• Forgetting how to do everyday tasks: doing laundry, getting dressed or showering.
• Getting lost in a familiar place: at work, shopping or at home.
• Changes in mood, personality or behavior: crying or becoming confused.

• PCHC Stages of Dementia Training
• Southeast Dementia Screening Tool

• The individual’s neurologist may prescribe a medication which can slow down the symptoms of AD. However at some point the symptoms of AD will return and will progress.
• It is important to ‘meet the individual where they are at', keep routines consistent and avoid multistep or complicated activities.
• Listening to music or making a scrapbook may be soothing activities.