Functional Assessment Test

In a strange city, with no map, streets can be hard to find. Care givers for Alzheimer's patients might feel the same way. They are exposed to any emotion the patient cares to fling at them. The Alzheimer's patient doesn't realize or understand their actions are inappropriate. However, that knowledge of the disease doesn't reduce the emotional strain on the care giver.

Each stage of the disease has its own subset of quirks that are part of the package called Alzheimer's Sometimes it would be helpful if you had a list to inform what the package holds.

The Functional Assessment Staging list can aid the care giver with some of their questions. Dr. Reisberg devised this assessment form to aid nurses and care givers in their efforts to understand some of the behaviors that their Alzheimer's patients exhibit.

The stages correlate to children from the age of birth to twelve. It can be very difficult to watch a sixty-five-year-old adult not being able to grasp a simple concept such as such as how to use a remote. Yet, this same adult can go into the kitchen and pour herself a cup of coffee, take milk out of the refrigerator and put it and sugar into the coffee without any problems at all. When you realize that a five-year-old child is at about the same development stage. Some things begin to make sense.

A five-year-old has spent her formative years learning new skills and strengthening her neural pathways. Your mother has spent sixty-five years learning how to organize her world. But now Alzheimer's disease has begun to destroy the neural connections. The memories might be there but the access trail has been destroyed.

As these neural networks are compromised, her behavior will become more childlike. But instead of getting better with time, it will get worse. Temper tantrums will seem to come from nowhere. The thought of an old friend may bring on a crying jag that could last for twenty minutes. Even though these emotional outbursts happen for what seems like no reason, they will dissipate the same way without leaving a trace.

Using the Functional Assessment as a general guideline will help keep the frustration levels to a minimum. As the person who suffers from Alzheimer's progresses through the stages it can become scary and nerve wracking. The Functional Assessment can help you keep a perspective on the situation.

Sources
mccare.com/pdf/support/product/fast_Overview.pdf