Four Stages of Dementia: The Final Stage

I'd like to talk to you about the final stages of Alzheimer's and other dementia keeping in mind that the rate of progression varies from person to person and the symptoms of stages will overlap I also want to point out that some people never get to the final stages because they may well die from other diseases like heart disease cancer stroke but if they don't suffer any of those diseases they may well survive to the final stages so the symptoms in the final stages include changes in memory in language m skills as well as self-care in the final stages people are seemingly not connected to the Past at all they may not recognize family members they may not recognize even their own direct caregivers and so they are really focused in on the here and now it's like being in the moment they're so forgetful about recent and past events their language is severely Disturbed to the point where they may have just a few words left or they may lose their speech altogether and therefore it becomes really important to learn how to communicate well nonverbally using the five senses for example they're seemingly oblivious to their surroundings at this point in time and so we need to really remind them that they are safe that they're in the company of of good people who are there to provide care they may have difficulty moving they may be confined to a wheelchair or bed and therefore they're at risk for skin breakdown so we want to make sure that they're well positioned that their skin is well taken care of at this point in time because they're so passive uh they they may be uh dealing with depression and so that is treatable uh we want to make sure that they're engaged to the extent possible we may be able to give them moments of joy that they can experience and at this point in time they need help with virtually everything that you and I take for granted bathing dressing toileting brushing one's teeth eating food they may have difficulty swallowing and chewing in the final stages we really believe that there may be less than six months to live so we always recommend that Hospice Care be offered at this point in time to ensure comfort and dignity at the end of life and to provide needed support to their families

Channel: RainbowHospice

Views: 341,470

Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimers, Dementia Stages, Rainbow Hospice

Id: ciEPpcubgUg

Length: 2min 24sec (144 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 25 2012