Term Paper on "Alzheimer's Disease Stages"

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As the disease spreads and worsens, the tasks will have to change accordingly and the skills and abilities will have to be rechecked in order to fix the tasks to adjust the routine. It is important for the families and communities to work together to create a successful environment to keep the mind of the patient stable.

The four essential categories of activities that take up our time in the course of a day are work, self-care, leisure and resting. It is important to however maintain a balance between these and manage the stress levels and keep our day positive and then has a control over our lives. The negative impacts are quite clear if this balance is not maintained. A day full of work and no leisure will result in extreme stress over a person; being constantly unemployed will result in the person getting extremely frustrated and being dissatisfied with life. Similarly, it is important for this balance to be maintained for an individual suffering from dementia. The condition of a demented person may be kept stable or deterioration may be slowed down if this balance is effectively carried out (Schneider, 2010).

The types of activities most valued by these adults are those that keep them engaged and busy with some kind of work. The work that they engage in is a chance for them to prove to themselves as well as others as to how competent, able and skilled they are and how they still need to be valued. It makes them feel good about themselves and their achievements. Work may be related to a particular job or it just might be some kind of involvement at home. A man who has owned or run a business may like to socialize, put things in order, read the newspaper or pay bills and t

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his may prove to be a kind of involvement and task for them. A woman may like to engage in house chores like cleaning, baking, washing dishes and sweeping. These are household tasks that would keep a woman busy throughout the day. The important thing to realize is that suffering from dementia does not snatch away a person's ability to be a productive part of the society and to be needed and wanted (Hancock, 2005). It is still difficult to ensure that the tasks assigned are successfully performed without errors or rechecked to fix things. It is important however, to provide a frequent opportunity of work to such people. It helps the person integrate and merge well in society and have a sense of belonging to the society.

The long-term care facilities that deal with the demented people also emphasize the importance of self-care activities and involving people in the need to take care of themselves and cater to their mind and body. The successful transition from childhood to adulthood is marked by the ability to take care of oneself and manage the needs and wants (Ballard, 2000). When a person suffers from dementia, he/she slowly loses the capability of completing their tasks and looking after themselves. As the disease spreads there is a worsening in this quality of the person and assistance is required to look after the patient. Hence, it is recommended that this particular aspect should be emphasized and the patient should constantly be involved in such tasks to keep self importance and care alive. This method has been quite effective and successful and has slowed down the worsening of the patient's condition (Neill, 2000).

The constant push to participate actively in such tasks and assisting the patients will help build their confidence and support and it will ensure that the patient has self-esteem and has a certain sense of his age and adulthood. The constant help and assistance may eventually lead to resistance to care and emotion and can result in emotional outbursts. This scenario of over helping can have serious drawbacks such as injury, dissatisfaction, attacking and in very serious cases, suicide. Hence, it is important to make the patient feel like he/she is not totally dependent and is able to care for themselves.

Leisure activities are that highlight of the day that makes it fun and releases all the stress. These activities differ from person to person based on interests and preferences. These activities are restricted to the time of the day when all the work is done. This leisure time is considered important today whereas in the past it was considered a waste of time and not so important. These activities are however important to retain a person's interest in doing work and fulfilling tasks because this relaxation time gives them a nice feeling (Kaufer, 2000). This is important to ensure for people who suffer from dementia as they need this quality time in spending what they like to do.

Lastly, the activities that energize the body and make the person feel fresh are rest activities. Although the best solution to this is sleep which fulfills all needs of the body and revitalizes oneself, there are still other activities that provide that mental peace which a person seeks after a stressful day. For elderly people, a rocking chair, peaceful fresh air walks, watching TV and playing with animals may also provide a peaceful time (Rimmer, 1997). Especially for the people suffering from dementia, it is common to have disturbances in sleep cycles. There are no regular routines of sleep and insomnia is common. Hence, these activities provide a suitable alternative to provide that relaxation.

Once these activities are recognized, it is important to devise a plan for each person separately based on individual interests and preferences. Every individual's work history, background, leisure interests, habits and routines determine the kind of activities that they would like in their routine. Helpful information regarding this may be obtained from the family and people associated. This would help the caretakers to come up with a suitable plan for tasks and activities for the patient. The last and the most essential part of this planning process of activities is to modify the activities in such a way as to make it interesting and easy to engage in for the person suffering from dementia. In order to match the task s to the person, the long-term care facilities first conduct an examination process to test the level of cognitive decline in a person, and judge the skills and abilities. These care facilities have certain critical points that are essential to consider:

It is important to determine the ability and talent of the person and judge whether the person will be able to perform the tasks assigned. The person's level of imparity is also to be considered because too much help can infuriate the person and result in retaliation. An activity that can be performed by the person on his own will be better for his motivational process. In order to assign the right sort of task to the patient, it is also necessary to consider the attention span of the person and allocate the right kind of activity. People often have particularly sharp features or senses that help them perform a job better which is important to identify (Sink, 2005). The task may be allocated according to the visual, auditory, tactile senses and abilities so that the person is able to perform the tasks easily. A task or activity may also involve either being social or doing it alone without anyone's help. A person's willingness and ability to socialize and integrate with people may be considered worth attention while assigning or structuring activities for patients.

The facilities also emphasize the identification of certain objects, visuals or sounds that enhance the performance or behavior. There are certain environments that may have a negative impact on a person, hence this need to be considered as well. Also, in the allocation of activities and tasks, it is important to sort them out according to the suitable time of the day. Stressful or mind challenging activities may be kept for the day time and the evening may be allocated for relaxing and peaceful activities. Researchers suggest that these are certain aspects that need to be considered for coming up with the types of activities of the demented patients because these have a range of effects on the individual (Holden, 2005). Emphasis on these criteria's has shown their effectiveness on patients and how their conditions are kept stable. Hence, long-term care facilities have numerous aspects to consider before they create an outline of activities for patients.

Work Cited:

Ballard C, Neill D. Anxiety, Depression and Psychosis in vascular dementia: prevalence and associations, 2000.

Hancock GA, Challis. The needs of older people with dementia in residential care. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2005.

Hill, Carrie. Alzheimer's symptoms. 2010. Web.

http://alzheimers.about.com/od/symptomsofalzheimers/a/symptoms.htm

Kaufer DI and Cummings JL. Assessing the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. 2000.

Rimmer J. Alzheimer's disease: Exercise management for persons with chronic diseases and disabilities.… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Alzheimer's Disease Stages" Assignment:

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Just choose one of the topic you fell comfortable to write with. Thank you.

This term paper (3,000 words, double-spaced, 12-point font) is a critical analysis of a topic area within the field of gerontology. The paper is to be based on a review of gerontological literature. Statements made in the paper should be supported by references to published peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book chapters, and books. Your paper must go beyond the material found in your course readings*****you are expected to refer to at least 10 additional academic sources directly related to your topic.

Topics

1. Describe the impact of exercise on longevity and quality of life for older people. How generalizable are the research findings to the average older person?

2. Some people argue that an increase in the proportion of older people in our population will make very heavy demands on the health care system and will escalate health care costs. Others disagree. Review the arguments on both sides and the evidence supporting each position.

3. In addition to drugs, a variety of other techniques have been tried as a means of reducing symptoms and aiding in the management of persons with Alzheimer*****s disease. Describe them and discuss their effectiveness.

4. Briefly describe the different stages in Alzheimer*****s disease. What are the planned activities offered to people with dementia in long-term care facilities? Review the literature about activities and their effectiveness in engaging people with dementia.

5. Review the research on how older people are portrayed in children*****s literature. Are there sex differences? Is the image portrayed today any different than the image portrayed twenty years ago?

6. Some old people come to a point when they can no longer entirely take care of themselves. Review the literature on the needs of frail elderly people. Describe the housing and care options available or being developed for different kinds and degrees of disability.

7. There are different residential options for seniors, depending on their physical and cognitive status. Review the literature on the following community-based housing options:

â-¦ Seniors***** independent housing.

â-¦ Supportive housing.

â-¦ Assisted living.

8. Describe the characteristics of each type of housing, including physical environments, services provided, and how these different options meet different needs.

9. Designing for people with dementia has received more attention in the last decade. There are now guidelines for home modifications for those with dementia who live in their own homes. Review the literature, looking at the existing design guidelines and empirical research in this area.

10. Reminiscence is considered an enjoyable and natural activity for seniors. Review the literature on reminiscence for older adults in terms of its conceptual basis, substantive issues, and therapeutic efficacy as a meaningful activity.

11. The concept of self is integrally related to aging. Some argue that self-identity changes over the lifespan while others counter that the self is mostly stable throughout aging. Review the literature on self and aging, and identify theoretical positions and major issues.

Aging-in-place***** refers to the possibility of remaining in one*****s home or community for an extended period to delay relocation to institutionalization. It also refers to the possibility of dying in one*****s home or community. Review the literature on the topic of aging-in-place and identify its variation.

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