Alzheimer's Informative Speech

This book is honest and well written. I would also recommend this for people who want to get a broad perspective on the ways Occupational Therapy can be utilized. The plot of Jan’s Story is a tragedy, but this also brings out the importance of the little things in life that can so easily be taken away. The only downside to this book is Barry focuses mainly on the negatives of his life with Jan. If someone were to read this book to get a view on Alzheimer’s I believe this would not be a good sole source to consider; however, it is very real and a reliable first hand

Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and recklessly growing at a fast pace, in that every sixty-seven seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s. ("Latest Facts & Figures Report | Alzheimer's Association., n.d.) The worst part of Alzheimer’s is not what occurs in the present, but instead, in what is yet to come. In “Jan’s Story,” the author and main protagonist of the tale, Barry Peterson, learns how to cope and live with the pain of The Disease, on a heartbreaking journey of love, loss, and the true test of how far will one go for whom they love.

When you get older, life may get tough. For Diane and her family, they take it one step at a time. Diane Allen is seventy six years old and has a hard time transporting around her daughter’s house. She suffers from dementia and has poor mobility. Dementia is a brain disease that causes long term memory loss.

Imagine a day where everything changes to something new. The daily routine is unrecognizable and suddenly everything becomes a blur. Remembering last Christmas or even the day before seems impossible and all the information disappears. This represents the daily life of people with Alzheimer's disease. In the book, Last Night in the OR by Bud Shaw, the final chapter of the book is “Good Days and Bad.”

In the short story "Babysitting Helen" when Helen was acting weirdly and when she kept repeating when ever the rabbit commercial came on, it made me wonder why she was repeating her self and I didn’t really understand why she did. But now I understand because of my research on dementia and Alzheimer's and that Helen behaves like that because the disease that Helen has affects her behavior. According to my research note it says that the effects of the disease is that it affects their memory, they way they act, how they feel and their thinking abilities. (Research Note 1).

In the chapter Illness, Society, and History in his book Framing Disease, Charles Rosenberg claimed that “in some ways disease does not exist until we say it does, by perceiving, naming and responding to it” (Rosenberg). Once accepted, these named diseases play a role in a complex network of social negotiations. Does this mean the disease does not exist before it is given a name or, rather, does it mean that a set of symptoms is placed into a new context? In the lines below, I will be exploring the meaning behind Rosenberg’s quote by discussing what the affect of the social construction of Alzheimer’s disease has been in social and familial contexts over the past few decades, as well as how Alzheimer’s was thought of before a diagnosis was

What do you know about Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that attacks the brain and affects all aspects of a person's life, it is fatal and made up mostly of memory loss and confusion symptoms, which increase as time goes by. My research on dementia has helped me broaden my understanding of the short story "Babysitting Helen". It taught me that Helen's symptoms, memory loss and confusion , trouble performing day-to-day tasks, and repeating of actions and words are normal for people with dementia or Alzheimer's.

Which brings me to how my research on dementia helped broaden my understanding on the short story "Babysitting Helen". It increased my knowledge the most in these three categories, the daily life affected, the symptoms of Alzheimer 's, and the struggles on the family. In the short story you can see the Alzheimer 's victim, Helen, was always being watched and always being taken care of. I now know why she was always on watch. As we can assume Barb is the caregiver for her mother and whenever she goes out she has to find someone to watch Helen.

.When I gazed into the eyes of my grandmother and my hero, I had no idea that those familiar brown eyes no longer knew who I was. I knew she was stumbling in life and that for the first time in over 10 years, she was separated from my grandfather and placed into an assisted living community.

My grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in early 2005. Visiting him every few years, I could see his recognition abilities deteriorating as the disease progressed. Eventually, he reached the point where he nearly forgot everyone except the one person he had spent the most time with; his wife. At the time of his death in 2013, he was in the advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. My experience with my grandfather and realizing that although many people have to go through this, there is not much awareness of these diseases, inspired me to choose dementia as my topic of interest.

Student Name: Kayla Stradomski Course # and Section/Time: COMM 101 DAH; Monday, 11:00 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. Topic: Alzheimer’s disease General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose Statement: To educate my audience on the aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. INTRODUCTION Attention Getter: Can you imagine your life if your memories and cognition slowly started deteriorating?

Adeline has had Alzheimer’s disease for six years now; she has been fighting hard but her disease is only getting worse. Her family has done all they could, getting her medicine, caregivers, and showing her great care themselves; but nothing will cure her dreadful disease. Her family is watching her slowing fall, further and further away each year, coming to realize one day they will lose their beloved Adeline to this horrific disease. Adeline no longer recalls who her grandchildren are, but her grandchildren and numerous others will forever remember her. Alzheimer’s disease is a “progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain.

Imagine a day where everything changes to something new. The daily routine is unrecognizable and suddenly everything becomes a blur. Remembering last christmas or even the day before seems impossible and all the information disappears. This represents the daily life of people with Alzheimer's disease. In the book, Last Night in the OR by Bud Shaw, the final chapter of the book is “Good Days and Bad.”

When the man arrives at home from the hospital, he begins to remember that “this is his house” (Cherry 15). In the poem, “Alzheimer’s,” Kelly Cherry expresses the confusions and difficulties a man with dementia struggles with in life. The poem explores the chaos of the man who comes home from the hospital and his conflicts with his memory loss. The speaker is close to the man and is frustrated with him at the beginning of the poem, but the speaker’s feeling toward the man eventually shifts to sadness. Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease can be painful and heartbreaking, though people need to understand that familiar circumstances and with family support can help the patients whose mind is gradually changing.

Griffiths et al (2014) stated that frustration is a common problem for nurses who are caring for people with dementia. I think that Margaret’s emotions were the biggest factor that influenced my feelings. The frustration on her face upset me as I desperately wanted to resolve the problem for her. However, part of the problem was me not allowing her to go home. Marquardt (2011) acknowledged that care for people with dementia is made more difficult in the hospital setting as the busy environment can disorientate them and leads to