Hi all,
I'm currently writing an essay on the affect of Alzheimer's on the different types of memory and came across something interesting the other day...
I often notice how people describe their loved ones' stage of Alzheimer's as being able to do this or that still. One of the things that often comes up is making tea. I know in the past that when I've been telling people about my Nan, I've said she can no longer do most things for herself "but she can still make a cup of tea", thinking that this meant she wasn't really too bad.
The other day while I was researching this essay I found a study which looked specifically at this ability of people with AD to make tea long after they are unable to carry out other tasks. They studied a number of AD patients during the decline of the disease and found that their ability to make tea was only affected very late in the disease and that it did not seem to be a marker of the stage of the disease in terms of the person's other capabilities at all, in that the people being studied could carry out very few other tasks in their lives.
I've always thought that by telling people my Nan can still make a cup of tea they presume she's far more uptogether than she is and now I've got some support that making a cup of tea doesn't reflect much about the stage of someones AD!
I'm currently writing an essay on the affect of Alzheimer's on the different types of memory and came across something interesting the other day...
I often notice how people describe their loved ones' stage of Alzheimer's as being able to do this or that still. One of the things that often comes up is making tea. I know in the past that when I've been telling people about my Nan, I've said she can no longer do most things for herself "but she can still make a cup of tea", thinking that this meant she wasn't really too bad.
The other day while I was researching this essay I found a study which looked specifically at this ability of people with AD to make tea long after they are unable to carry out other tasks. They studied a number of AD patients during the decline of the disease and found that their ability to make tea was only affected very late in the disease and that it did not seem to be a marker of the stage of the disease in terms of the person's other capabilities at all, in that the people being studied could carry out very few other tasks in their lives.
I've always thought that by telling people my Nan can still make a cup of tea they presume she's far more uptogether than she is and now I've got some support that making a cup of tea doesn't reflect much about the stage of someones AD!