Dementia & Sight loss

1. Dementia & Sight loss Sight Village 19 July 2016 Gemma Jolly Knowledge Officer (Health & Wellbeing) gemma.jolly@alzheimers.org.uk ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

2. “When you’ve met one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia.” Professor Tom Kitwood ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

3. Dementia numbers • 850,000 people with dementia in the UK • Costs £26.3bn per year • More common as you get older but over 40,000 people under 65 have dementia. • Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community. ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

4. Dementia • Is not a natural part of ageing • Dementia is an umbrella term for a number of different diseases that affect the brain in different ways. • It is defined as a disease that is progressive, affects more than one aspect of thinking and affects daily living. ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

5. Dementia • Alzheimer’s disease • Dementia with Lewy bodies • Mixed dementia • Vascular dementia • Frontotemporal dementia ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

6. Symptoms • Memory loss • Difficulties concentrating, organising or planning • Problems with communicating • Sight and visual difficulties • Orientation difficulties • Mood and behavioural changes ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

7. Dementia & Vision • People with dementia may have visual difficulties caused by the brain, but healthy eyes. • Some types of dementia have a direct impact on vision • Dementia with lewy bodies • Alzheimer’s disease ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

8. Dementia & sight loss • Causes of sight loss in a person with dementia: • Eye condition (eg cataracts) • Another health condition (eg Stroke) • Normal ageing of the eye • Dementia ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

9. Lived experience “It’s so hard for Dad to do the things he liked to do. Its not just the effect of macular disease and his poor central vision, but the confusion and loss of memory because of the dementia makes everything twice as difficult for him; you can see him just giving up. ” ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

10. Lived experience • Increased difficulty understanding and learning new tasks • Increased disorientation • Communication problems • More visual mistakes • Mobility, increased risk of falls ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

11. Lived experience • Loss of activities • Social isolation • Loss of self-esteem, increased anxiety • Loss of independence • Loss of traditional coping strategies ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

12. Supporting the person • Good eye care • Make the most of sight • Regular eye tests • 3 Cs – current, clean and correct • Environment • Lighting • Contrast • Familiar/ clutter free ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

13. Supporting the person • Equipment and technology • Good/clear communication • Strategies to support activity • Other sources of support • Awareness of the impact of sight loss and dementia ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

14. Supporting the person • Focus on what the person can do and ways to maintain this. • Help the person maintain confidence & self-esteem • Develop coping strategies • Think practically! ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

15. Visual hallucinations • People with sight loss can experience visual hallucinations (known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome) • People with dementia may experience hallucinations • Sight loss can increase the risk of a person with dementia hallucinating ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

16. Visual hallucinations • People may not be hallucinating but experiencing: • Misperceptions • Misidentifications • Visual hallucinations are more common in dementia with lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease dementia and Alzheimer’s disease ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

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19. Useful resources • RNIB dementia and sight loss information (http://www.rnib.org.uk/services-we-offer-advice-professionals-social-care-professionals/dementia-and-sight-loss) • Alzheimer’s Society (www.alzheimers.org.uk) • Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) dementia gateway (https://www.scie.org.uk/dementia/living-with-dementia/sensory-loss/sight-loss.asp) ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk

20. Thank you! gemma.jolly@alzheimers.org.uk alzheimers.org.uk ________________________________________________________________________________________ alzheimers.org.uk