For some families with relatives with Dementia, they want to take care of their family member.
This can be a frustrating time.
The Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan made this time a little easier for care givers by providing a Care Essentials Telehealth series through the Saskatoon Health Region.
The four part series was broadcast to the Health District Health Complex in the four Wednesday of October.
Out of 34 Telehealth sites across the province, there were 100 participants, which was a little low for Connie Snider, Client Services Manager with the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan.
“We have over 18,000 diagnosed cases (in Saskatchewan),” said Snider, “having said that it is very under diagnosed.”
There is a couple of reasons why this underdiagnosis occurs, said Snider but nothing she can say definitively.
There is research looking at various reasons, said Snider, from stigma to lack of professionals comfortable diagnosing Dementia.
“People don’t have to be referred to a specialist to get that diagnosis but we have limited resources in the province as well.”
Dementia is an umbrella term for diseases where there is loss of function. Alzeheimers makes up 64 per cent of the different types of Dementia. The other 36 per cent make up many other different forms of Dementia.
“In Alzeheimers disease it ranges from early memory loss to inability to make decisions right up to death. We talk about procression as an early, middle and late stage and we have people all along that spectrum.”
An early diagnosis does not mean an immediate loss of function. In early stages, people can function quite well, said Snider. The advantage of an early diagnosis does mean it gives people more time to take care of future decisions that have to be made on their behalf.
“Just because you can’t change it, unfortunately there is no cause or cure yet, once you got the disease you got the disease and its going to progress.”
However, there are ways of lower your risk and improving you quality of life, said Snider, like healthy life style choices and diets.
Progression of the disease depends on the location within the brain and many other factors, said Snider, not all cases are the same.
“There are tell tale signs of the disease but you can’t say this is progression you are necessarily going to see,” said Snider.
Changes to a person who has Alzeheimers can be drastic but caregivers need to remember that these changes are because of the disease.
“Always recognize that person for who they are and don’t let the disease dictate who they are.”
Important information for caregiver is to look after themselves. They need to care for themselves to provide good care for someone else, said Snider.
The Alzeheimers Society of Saskatchewan is there to provide a support and education group for those diagnosed with Alzeheimers or Dementia and those providing care.
“Research shows that people who are more knowledgable feel more confident in their caregiving.”
The last session on Oct. 28 dealt later stage Alzeheimers with a focus on personal care and personal living and how to make the person with dimentia successful.
Session 1 on Oct. 7 was an introduction to the disease itself.
Session 2 on Oct. 14 was about care for the caregiver and the importance of having a support system in place for the caregiver and how to care for themselves.
Session 3 on Oct. 21 was about understanding behaviours and the meaning behind the behaviour. When people discover the meaning behind the behaviour, it will help them understand the behavior, said Snider.
