Neuro Note #4

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     For this assignment, I chose to look further into the neurological condition of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a specific type of dementia. This disease is caused by plaques and tangles in the brain which result as a progressive loss of memory. Symptoms of this disease or the “5 A’s” include anomia, amnesia, apraxia, agnosia, and aphasia. Additionally, Alzheimer’s disease can affect other areas of an individual’s life such as motor skills, balance, ADLs, iADLs, and much more.

    Although this disease is seen by most as a devastation, there can be some joy found within it. I say this after watching a very inspirational and informative Ted Talk video “Finding joy in an Alzheimer’s reality” by Beth Fauth who spoke about Alzheimer’s disease and how we have the power to see the good. She spoke about the influence a caregiver, nurse, therapist, or anyone else who comes in contact with someone who has AD has on their life. For example, she conducted a study that found individual’s with AD who’s caregivers and nurses positively interacted with them on a daily basis had a significantly higher happiness and interactive level (i.e. more smiling, more mobility, etc) than those who’s caregivers/nurses did not. Additionally, she gave more examples of how to interact with clients to have a positive influence on them by offering support, acknowledging their emotions, don’t repeatedly tell them bad news, and create connections with them. This video was very informative for me for multiple reasons but the main reason being that as a future occupational therapist, it is important for me to know how to understand and act around someone with this disease and how I can make the greatest impact on their life. I chose to watch this video because I have always considered AD to be something that would be a sad diagnosis and this woman turned it into something positive and I think this is great for people to hear and learn about. It would be easy to not engage or get involved with someone who has AD but this would not be beneficial for anyone. This video is a detailed addition to the many things we talked about in class and I definitely think it would be beneficial for others to watch as well. 
Fauth, Beth. “Finding Joy in an Alzheimer's Reality.” Youtube, Ted Talk, 2016,  
       www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxZqoIbnVis.

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