What Kind of Quality of Life Do People with Alzheimer's Disease Have?

Do you ever wonder about the quality of life for people who have dementia? I'm not talking about someone's last few days in end-stage dementia. I'm talking about the early and middle stages of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, where people might struggle with finding words to express what they're feeling, forget that they're mother passed away twenty years ago, or require care in a nursing home. What about these people? What kind of quality of life do they have? As with many things, it depends on whom you ask. Fortunately, the Alzheimer's Society in the United Kingdom conducted an exciting study in 2010 on this entitled, "My Name Is Not Dementia" (What a great name!). The researchers asked people with dementia, many of whom lived in a nursing home or other care facility, about their quality of life. The study was intentional in their efforts to include people both in early and later stages of dementia, as well as people of different ethnicities. The results of the study? The persons with dementia tended to feel more positive about their quality of life than their caregivers or family members did, and even those who were well into symptoms of dementia were able to express what was important to them. Responses were expressed verbally (and many quotes are included in the research report from the study) as well as through the use of picture cards that allowed people whose verbal skills were impaired to clearly communicate their opinions and thoughts. Want to kno...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news