What problems do people facing Alzheimers face and what ways would you say they could be helped.

[Designandtechnology]

To everyone that has taken the time to read this, I am currently taking my GCSE in design and technology and I am designing and building a product that organises general everyday items for people of any age facing Alzheimers. I am writing to find out what are the main items ,that people facing Alzheimers, often loose around the house.Also, I was wondering if you knew of any products that are very helpful towards people with Alzheimers, so I could look into theses products and get a range of ideas. It would mean a lot to me if I got a few responses back as I could use this evidence for my GCSE and helping me build an organiser for people suffering with Alzheimers today. Once again, thank you for your time reading this and I would be very grateful of any responses.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Beate]

Sorry, but this question is way too general. There are a multitude of problems people with dementia (why only Alzheimer's?) face and if you take the time to read around the forum and peruse the factsheets I am sure you will identify quite a few. We are busy carers. If you have a concrete product in mind, we might be able to give opinions.

 

[try again]

Well done for thinking of doing this for you project. It's very hard to predict the behaviour of people with dementia as things can be placed in unusual places. Sometimes they forget how to use the most simple of aids. To some people color seems important. People often use brightly coloured toilet seats for example. Good luck with it!

 

[Bunpoots]

The only thing I can think of that would be able to organise the general day to day routines of a PWD is a person without dementia..

The first clue that dad had something wrong was when he used to ring up and tell us his car had been stolen. It hadn't, he'd just forgotten where he'd parked it..
At about the same time he would get lost on familiar routes...
And his car started to get a lot of scratches ...
He pretty soon had to stop driving.

I used to write notes for him. Eg. If he was coming to mine for tea I'd leave him a note on the hob. Worked for a few weeks then he started to move the note and cook his tea - so he'd be eating it by the time I arrived to fetch him to mine.

My dad had a "tab time" machine ( a bit like an automatic cat feeder ) that worked well for him in the early stages but as the disease progressed I used to find the pills had been taken out of the machine and left on the coffee table...and later still he just ignored the machine beeping. So he needed me to go everyday to make sure he took his pills.

We spent many hours playing hunt the keys, and he once left some eggs on the hob to boil, forgot about them and I went in just in time to hear them explode ... And then clean the kitchen for him.

More recently dad is convinced that he has nothing wrong with him and doesn't remember that he doesn't remember....that's a whole new set of problems!! And dementia is always one step ahead...

Good luck. Dementia has no logic, but thinks it has all the answers

 

[canary]

people with dementia - of all types, not just Alzheimers - put all sorts of things in truly bizarre places.
The most common things to go missing are hearing aids, glasses, false teeth and jewellery, but it can be anything really.

I have found keys stuffed in shoes, a necklace in the tea caddy underneath the tea bags, mums will in with the best table linen, false teeth wrapped in tissues and put in the bin, the deeds to the house stashed away behind a chest of drawers, a shoe in the microwave, birth, wedding and other certificates sandwiched in between books in the book case, a drinking glass in the washing machine, a tray behind the sofa, an open and half eaten jar of honey under the bed (complete with spoon), hearing aids in the cutlery drawer............. and the list goes on.

If you are thinking of making some physical object with spaces for all the items that commonly go missing, then I have to tell you that it will not work, because the person with dementia will not put things in there and if someone else does the person with dementia will move them out.

The problem with dementia is that either they cannot remember where things go and get confused (like the drinking glass in the washing machine) then forget where they have put it, or they are worried about things going missing - they are often convinced that someone is coming in and stealing things, not realising that it is they themselves that keep picking things up and moving them around and/or putting things in strange places. In this case they will often put things "away safely" where the thief wont find it (like the necklace in the tea caddy), but then forget that they have done this.

There is no rhyme nor reason to the places that things get put. To me it demonstrated the chaos in mums mind

 

[Distressed55]

To everyone that has taken the time to read this, I am currently taking my GCSE in design and technology and I am designing and building a product that organises general everyday items for people of any age facing Alzheimers. I am writing to find out what are the main items ,that people facing Alzheimers, often loose around the house.Also, I was wondering if you knew of any products that are very helpful towards people with Alzheimers, so I could look into theses products and get a range of ideas. It would mean a lot to me if I got a few responses back as I could use this evidence for my GCSE and helping me build an organiser for people suffering with Alzheimers today. Once again, thank you for your time reading this and I would be very grateful of any responses.
@Designandtechnology

This sounds like a great project, very worthwhile.

You may want to start with narrowing your search a little. For those with advanced dementia (which covers Alzheimers), the person will need quite a lot of nursing type care. It's unlikely that they would really be able to do much themselves. So you are probably looking (I think) at those who have just been diagnosed, or are at a relatively early stage in this hideous disease.

Confusion over day to day tasks can and does strike at any time, with no warning. Something that was achieved yesterday - like boiling a kettle - can become impossible the next day.

Routines can help for a while. My dad had a medication chart that I set up for him, he just had to tick them off as he took the pills. Eventually that became too difficult to understand though.

But even something as easy as making a cup of tea could be triumphant for a person with dementia. Although you can get kettles which are small (often elderly people don't have a lot of physical strength) there doesn't seem to be one that prevents scalding when the kettle is poured into a cup. Is that the sort of thing you are looking at?

Big colour codes on taps too, for hot and cold. Eyesight is often a problem, so you need something larger than normal.

Every person is different, and their experience of dementia is different, so my suggestions might not be the same as others, or work for others.

But good luck with your GCSE.

 

[2jays]

Google tepa snow

These examples may help you

 

[Mumsmum]

I think a good starting point is thinking about what can keep people independent as long as possible. For us it’s involved:
* a combination lockable medicine cabinet that fits the popper packet of tablets in, so Carer’s can access them and mum can’t, in white so it doesn’t attract her attention
* stopping her flooding the flat diwnstairs so removing the bath plug, cutting water supply to bath taps with a hidden key, and just a shower, you could consider cut offs when water too hot or at a certain level
* cutting off gas / electricity to oven and job to remove fire hazard, so consider an easy way for Carer’s to switch on and it switches off automatically so not forgotten
* fool proof microwave - very simple controls, just a medium setting and maximum 10 minutes, really simple turntable that isn’t hard to put back, impossible to find as the trend is to add whizz bang options which just lead to burning
* fool proof kettle that can only be filled with water, not tea bags, milk, coffee, beans etc
* auto switch off taps after a certain volume of water (sink full size)
* massive overflows on baths and sinks which can cope with volume of water going in
* food bags which change colour / send message to carer when food is mouldy / off
* multi bottle / jar covers to replace tops thrown away
* clear faced analogue clock with digital time as well, day, month, year, season, whether it’s night/day/morning/afternoon
* a tv which a Carer can choose volume and a limited number of channels, and a remote that only has on /off/and up to 10 channel numbers no need for anything else as it causes confusion

Basically it’s identifying what’s needed, every task can be done this way, you don’t need to solve the whole dementia problem in one go, just one step at a time eg the dementia person needs to wash up and starts with a sink of water, what can go wrong? like switching taps on and forgetting, putting too much hot water in, putting too much in the sink do it iverfliws, etc and then think how you can stop each think happening.

Hope this helps a bit

 

[Juniorjunior]

Good luck with your future GCSE's. I hope you find a topic you feel you can work on.
I find like others have already said that sometimes as a carer you sort one problem to find another appears or the original problem reoccurs, however this isn't going to solve your GCSE question.
The tv is a big one. Using remotes become difficult. Multiple channels are not always required.
I have found transparent storage jars have been helpful. These allows teabag or biscuits to be located easier.
Anything which helps monitoring the person with dementia remotely would be excellent. As a carer who works full time sometimes it would be lovely to get visual reassurance person is okay without disturbing their routine by phoning.
GPS to avoid issues of someone getting lost if they wander but how to ensure this is always with the person. How to stop removal of strap or pendant with gps ?
Use of technology in accessing health care such as GPS appointments to reduce stress in waiting rooms.
So many issues but not all with solutions. Good luck. I'm very pleased you have focused on this area and can maybe help some people some of the time.

 

[Selinacroft]

Some very good ideas mumsmum but don't reinvent the wheel- you will never get a patent. Simple remotes with only basic functions and clocks for dementia already exist with day/night/date/morning/eve etc
Try and remember that dementia is not about memory loss, especially vascular dementia which has many different effects on different people. It really depends which part of the brain has been affected.
You need to remember a PWD (person with dementia) may be stubborn, immobile, argumentative, incapable of understanding arguments or explanations or instructions. They may have balance issues, confusion on colours, confusion over time of day or day/night. They may put clothes on back to front or for the wrong season, want the doors unlocked in the middle of the night, want the version of a product they used 50 years ago and not the current one. Remember also that whatever you invent may be of limited use as dementia progresses.

 

[Floria Tosca]

Come and stay here for a few days and you'll have lots of information. You'd be very welcome and can I book a hair appointment whilst you're here, I'll only be gone a few hours?? LOL

 

[Amethyst59]

@Designandtechnology ....I’m guessing you must be partway through your course, as you are probably still on holiday from school? If this is the case and your idea is firmly fixed then maybe a container that holds objects such as keys, remote controls, spare spectacles would be useful. Maybe each section could have a photograph of what should be in it, to encourage the person with dementia to replace articles after use?
If, however, you have not yet begun the course and you are still researching ideas, then maybe narrow your project down to one item, rather than a general ‘things that get lost’. As everyone has said, a device like this would have limited use...and it would be very short term, as dementia is a degenerative illness.
You have been given some good ideas for the things that become increasingly difficult like changing channels on a TV or making a cup of tea. If you take a look at the Altzheimer’s Society shop it will give you an idea of some living aids that are available and these might spark an idea for you.
https://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/?_ga=2.165348732.234187430.1525279367-328746123.1525279367

 

[Designandtechnology]

Well done for thinking of doing this for you project. It's very hard to predict the behaviour of people with dementia as things can be placed in unusual places. Sometimes they forget how to use the most simple of aids. To some people color seems important. People often use brightly coloured toilet seats for example. Good luck with it!

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

The only thing I can think of that would be able to organise the general day to day routines of a PWD is a person without dementia..

The first clue that dad had something wrong was when he used to ring up and tell us his car had been stolen. It hadn't, he'd just forgotten where he'd parked it..
At about the same time he would get lost on familiar routes...
And his car started to get a lot of scratches ...
He pretty soon had to stop driving.

I used to write notes for him. Eg. If he was coming to mine for tea I'd leave him a note on the hob. Worked for a few weeks then he started to move the note and cook his tea - so he'd be eating it by the time I arrived to fetch him to mine.

My dad had a "tab time" machine ( a bit like an automatic cat feeder ) that worked well for him in the early stages but as the disease progressed I used to find the pills had been taken out of the machine and left on the coffee table...and later still he just ignored the machine beeping. So he needed me to go everyday to make sure he took his pills.

We spent many hours playing hunt the keys, and he once left some eggs on the hob to boil, forgot about them and I went in just in time to hear them explode ... And then clean the kitchen for him.

More recently dad is convinced that he has nothing wrong with him and doesn't remember that he doesn't remember....that's a whole new set of problems!! And dementia is always one step ahead...

Good luck. Dementia has no logic, but thinks it has all the answers

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

people with dementia - of all types, not just Alzheimers - put all sorts of things in truly bizarre places.
The most common things to go missing are hearing aids, glasses, false teeth and jewellery, but it can be anything really.

I have found keys stuffed in shoes, a necklace in the tea caddy underneath the tea bags, mums will in with the best table linen, false teeth wrapped in tissues and put in the bin, the deeds to the house stashed away behind a chest of drawers, a shoe in the microwave, birth, wedding and other certificates sandwiched in between books in the book case, a drinking glass in the washing machine, a tray behind the sofa, an open and half eaten jar of honey under the bed (complete with spoon), hearing aids in the cutlery drawer............. and the list goes on.

If you are thinking of making some physical object with spaces for all the items that commonly go missing, then I have to tell you that it will not work, because the person with dementia will not put things in there and if someone else does the person with dementia will move them out.

The problem with dementia is that either they cannot remember where things go and get confused (like the drinking glass in the washing machine) then forget where they have put it, or they are worried about things going missing - they are often convinced that someone is coming in and stealing things, not realising that it is they themselves that keep picking things up and moving them around and/or putting things in strange places. In this case they will often put things "away safely" where the thief wont find it (like the necklace in the tea caddy), but then forget that they have done this.

There is no rhyme nor reason to the places that things get put. To me it demonstrated the chaos in mums mind

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

This sounds like a great project, very worthwhile.

You may want to start with narrowing your search a little. For those with advanced dementia (which covers Alzheimers), the person will need quite a lot of nursing type care. It's unlikely that they would really be able to do much themselves. So you are probably looking (I think) at those who have just been diagnosed, or are at a relatively early stage in this hideous disease.

Confusion over day to day tasks can and does strike at any time, with no warning. Something that was achieved yesterday - like boiling a kettle - can become impossible the next day.

Routines can help for a while. My dad had a medication chart that I set up for him, he just had to tick them off as he took the pills. Eventually that became too difficult to understand though.

But even something as easy as making a cup of tea could be triumphant for a person with dementia. Although you can get kettles which are small (often elderly people don't have a lot of physical strength) there doesn't seem to be one that prevents scalding when the kettle is poured into a cup. Is that the sort of thing you are looking at?

Big colour codes on taps too, for hot and cold. Eyesight is often a problem, so you need something larger than normal.

Every person is different, and their experience of dementia is different, so my suggestions might not be the same as others, or work for others.

But good luck with your GCSE.

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

I think the fact that you are giving this some thought is very good! One of the things about dementia is that while there is a common range of problems that all sufferers face, it can also be very individual to the person and the way it affects them. In the earlier stages, things like notes to prompt mum to do things and general reminders were of some help. The dementia clock that displayed the day was also helpful. However, as the disease is now progressing, these have become less useful, mum now asks me what day it is and tends not to read notes I leave for her. The goal posts are always moving unfortunately!

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

I think a good starting point is thinking about what can keep people independent as long as possible. For us it’s involved:
* a combination lockable medicine cabinet that fits the popper packet of tablets in, so Carer’s can access them and mum can’t, in white so it doesn’t attract her attention
* stopping her flooding the flat diwnstairs so removing the bath plug, cutting water supply to bath taps with a hidden key, and just a shower, you could consider cut offs when water too hot or at a certain level
* cutting off gas / electricity to oven and job to remove fire hazard, so consider an easy way for Carer’s to switch on and it switches off automatically so not forgotten
* fool proof microwave - very simple controls, just a medium setting and maximum 10 minutes, really simple turntable that isn’t hard to put back, impossible to find as the trend is to add whizz bang options which just lead to burning
* fool proof kettle that can only be filled with water, not tea bags, milk, coffee, beans etc
* auto switch off taps after a certain volume of water (sink full size)
* massive overflows on baths and sinks which can cope with volume of water going in
* food bags which change colour / send message to carer when food is mouldy / off
* multi bottle / jar covers to replace tops thrown away
* clear faced analogue clock with digital time as well, day, month, year, season, whether it’s night/day/morning/afternoon
* a tv which a Carer can choose volume and a limited number of channels, and a remote that only has on /off/and up to 10 channel numbers no need for anything else as it causes confusion

Basically it’s identifying what’s needed, every task can be done this way, you don’t need to solve the whole dementia problem in one go, just one step at a time eg the dementia person needs to wash up and starts with a sink of water, what can go wrong? like switching taps on and forgetting, putting too much hot water in, putting too much in the sink do it iverfliws, etc and then think how you can stop each think happening.

Hope this helps a bit

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

Good luck with your future GCSE's. I hope you find a topic you feel you can work on.
I find like others have already said that sometimes as a carer you sort one problem to find another appears or the original problem reoccurs, however this isn't going to solve your GCSE question.
The tv is a big one. Using remotes become difficult. Multiple channels are not always required.
I have found transparent storage jars have been helpful. These allows teabag or biscuits to be located easier.
Anything which helps monitoring the person with dementia remotely would be excellent. As a carer who works full time sometimes it would be lovely to get visual reassurance person is okay without disturbing their routine by phoning.
GPS to avoid issues of someone getting lost if they wander but how to ensure this is always with the person. How to stop removal of strap or pendant with gps ?
Use of technology in accessing health care such as GPS appointments to reduce stress in waiting rooms.
So many issues but not all with solutions. Good luck. I'm very pleased you have focused on this area and can maybe help some people some of the time.

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology

 

[Designandtechnology]

Some very good ideas mumsmum but don't reinvent the wheel- you will never get a patent. Simple remotes with only basic functions and clocks for dementia already exist with day/night/date/morning/eve etc
Try and remember that dementia is not about memory loss, especially vascular dementia which has many different effects on different people. It really depends which part of the brain has been affected.
You need to remember a PWD (person with dementia) may be stubborn, immobile, argumentative, incapable of understanding arguments or explanations or instructions. They may have balance issues, confusion on colours, confusion over time of day or day/night. They may put clothes on back to front or for the wrong season, want the doors unlocked in the middle of the night, want the version of a product they used 50 years ago and not the current one. Remember also that whatever you invent may be of limited use as dementia progresses.

Thanks for your answer to my question regarding what problems people with Alzheimers face, its really helped towards my GCSE project that I am working on currently. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it.
@Designandtechnology