Caring for someone with dementia and apraxia
Almost everyone knows something about dementia, even if they only know the myths. Few people know about apraxia. But no one knows the personal impact of these disorders. When a loved one is diagnosed, perhaps first, with dementia, your emotions run wild. Everything from fear/terror to depression, anger, frustration, and the belief that you can’t handle what comes next flashes through your mind.
The dementia diagnosis is challenging by itself, but if apraxia becomes part of the diagnosis, daily living, communication, and social interaction will be even more profoundly affecting not just the individual, but everyone around them.
Facing daily living challenges
Cognitive decline is the main result of dementia. It affects memory, judgment, and problem solving. Since we spend most of our awake hours remembering things,, using our best judgment, and solving our daily problems, losing those skills can make a patient a danger to himself or herself. So constant supervision is necessary from someone still possessing those skills. And, as the decline continues, such routine things as cooking, paying bills, hygiene, and getting dressed become a struggle for the patient.
Apraxia enters and makes matters worse
Now there is another layer of complexity. Apraxia affects the ability to do routine movements that require a sequence of actions. To make matters worse, the patient frequently knows what the sequence of the correct movements are and wants to do them.
(Imagine the frustration. This could be the cause of sudden outbreaks of anger.)
So, now the caregiver has to provide a level of hands-on help instead of standing by and overseeing that things go smoothly.
This is where I want to beg you to take a deep breath and just concentrate on loving the one you are caring for. They are deeply affected and embarrassed by the loss of the personal control they have of their life and actions.
Stop and think: would your loved one have chosen the situation they are currently in? You know they wouldn’t. I know it is so frustrating, but be kind.
Impact on communication
Apraxia impacts both verbal and non-verbal communication. Dementia will hamper word recall, making complete sentences, or following conversations. Warning: allowing this to continue can lead to the patient to withdraw socially and become isolated.
When you mix apraxia with dementia, gestures, facial expressions, and other forms of body language are often impaired. Not only will this cause the patient to become more isolated, but it can lead to misunderstandings.
Social Interaction
In the beginning and intermediate stages of dementia the patient often feels embarrassed because of the “stigma” of the failure of optimum brain functions. (I wish I knew what optimum brain function actually looks like. We don’t see it in action ofter, do we?)
People with these difficulties can feel anxious in social situations. Often there will be individuals in a group setting who do not know the background of the dementia patient; often strange movements or conversational faux pas will draw unkind looks from bystanders. All in all, dementia is hell for the patient and everyone who interacts with them. Adding apraxia to their struggles just seems to be unnecessarily cruel.
So, here’s to you, you beautiful or handsome caregiver. Managing these conditions is above and beyond anything you expected to face. You weren’t prepared; you weren’t trained; you just loved someone who now needs your strength and understanding. That is why you MUST take care of yourself.
Self care is not selfish; it’s smart. Let something go while you slow down and find peace within your soul.
As always, I’m sending you love.