AlzOnline.net is a caregiver support forum for Alzheimer’s caregivers. They have an interesting article on their website about anosognosia, which is a lack of self-awareness about one’s decline or condition. The best part of the article are “examples of how to approach, interact and speak to someone who has anosognia.”
Here’s the summary from the article: “The person who has anosognosia is unaware of deficits or the progressive decline in abilities to manage tasks and self-care. The person with anosognosia is not in denial; they have limited awareness or are unaware of the decline. When people with anosognosia confabulate, they believe what they are saying; they are not lying. Their remarks should be treated with respect, followed by a smooth transition to whatever tasks or activities need to occur next. Regular help for the home and family, planning ahead and working with a positive, partnership approach will help with the long-term, daily care management.”
Here’s a link to the full article and some additional excerpts.
http://alzonline.phhp.ufl.edu/en/readin … gnosia.pdf
“A lack of awareness of impairment, not knowing that a deficit or illness exists, in memory or other function is called anosognosia. The term anosognosia refers to brain cell changes that lead to a lack of self-awareness. … The impairment may be in memory, other thinking skills, emotion, or movement.”
“Anosognosia differs from denial. Denial is a strategy used to reject something that a person wants to ignore, partially avoid, or reject outright because it is too difficult or causes too much stress. The person may minimize a problem or accept part of the truth, for example, the person may accept the fact of being chronically ill but want to avoid dealing with it by not taking medicine. Sometimes a person is in denial in order to avoid taking any responsibility for an issue or situation. Anosognosia is not denial.”
“Anosognosia may occur in different progressive memory disorders. Often the progressive dementia (sometimes referred to as a progressive memory disorder) is of the Alzheimer’s disease type, sometimes it fits into the category of Lewy body disease or a frontal-temporal lobar degeneration.”
“Interaction Tips
Providing regular assistance with daily chores, transportation, and personal care and restricting unsafe activities are important. For example, someone may need to make sure that meals are readily available, that spoiled food is discarded, and that alcoholic beverages are not accessible. The controls for operating the stove and water heater should be inaccessible. Someone should be responsible for setting the home thermostat at an appropriate temperature and then locking the thermostat so that the person who is not accurately interpreting body temperature cannot reset the room temperature at too high or too low. Soiled clothing should be laundered immediately or kept unavailable (out of sight out of mind) until the clothing is clean.”
“The Checklist for Family Matters, located at www.AlzOnline.net is a useful tool to help families with planning for long-term care management. Regular respite for the family caregiver(s) is essential!”
“Examples of how to approach, interact and speak to someone who has anosognosia:
1. Down-size and decrease unnecessary chores and responsibilities.
Use a positive approach, such as, “It is time to plan ahead about moving to a retirement community where there are kind people and some of your friends so you have more time to do what you like, such as read and go for a walk every morning.”
Don’t use a negative approach, such as, “This house and yard are too much work for all of us. It is hard for you to take care of the house, the yard, and yourself. You need to move to a place where people are always around to help you.”
2. Partner with the person.
Use a positive approach, such as, “Let’s work together on the front porch, then go out for a nice dinner.”
Don’t use a negative approach, such as, “You really need to clean up that mess of old magazines, newspapers and piles of trash on the front porch.”
3. Focus on the person’s concern and subtly include your concern.
Use a positive approach, such as, “When you take this multi-vitamin, how about taking these “brain-vitamins” that the doctor prescribed to keep your memory strong?”
Don’t use a negative approach, such as, “The doctor prescribed these pills and you have to take them every morning.”
4. A gentle, positive voice should be part of a positive empathic approach.
Use a positive approach, such as, “To keep up with these bills, we should work as a team. I will come over on Saturday mornings with your favorite breakfast and we will write out the checks together. After you sign the checks, we will put them in their envelopes and take them to the mailbox.”
Don’t use a negative approach, such as, “You have to pay these bills on time. The utility companies have sent notices threatening to shut off the gas and electricity. I’ll handle the bills from now on.”
5. Provide available assistance and a structured schedule of tasks including personal care, activities including chores and leisure
activities, and “down-time” including a favorite activity or no activity.
Use a positive approach, such as, “After we walk the dog, we will finish the laundry and then sit down for some of that applesauce I cooked this morning.”
Don’t use a negative approach, such as, “There is so much to do? What do you want to do this morning? We have to walk the dog, finish the laundry, and clean the kitchen. The work really piles up fast around here.”