Trail Gatekeeper Program: Dementia
Dementia does become more common with age, although, even in the very old, it is abnormal and pathological. According to Berger, "Dementia is the irreversible loss of intellectual functioning caused by organic brain damage or disease. It is characterized by a deterioration of intelligence and behavior." Dementia is not a mental illness. According to Rybash, brain chemistry is altered and brain cells die." It is important to have a medical diagnosis, to rule out any possible reversible causes of the dementia. As Gatekeepers it is important to be aware of the symptoms, which may include:
- Memory Loss
- Apathy
- Here and now thinking
- Behaving in extremes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations/Delusions
- Wandering
- Loss of Calculation / Abstract Thought
- Incontinence
- Increased Dependency
- Immobility
- Agnosia or Aphasia
- Seizures or Coma
