This is the fourth in a series of posts that includes chapter excerpts from You Oughta Know: Acknowledging, Recognizing, and Responding to the Steps in the Journey Through Dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease.

This post includes an excerpt from chapter 3, which comprehensively looks at the the step in the journey through dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease where communication difficulties arise. It discusses the kinds of communication problems that arise and how we as caregivers can help our loved ones bridge those gaps.

This series begins with the forward to the book and an explanation of why I wrote this book and why you should read it.

The steps in the journey through dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease are presented sequentially in the order in which they actually appear in the course of these neurological diseases.

There are no other books that literally walk through each step in sequential order as they emerge in the journey through dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Additionally, there is no other book that discusses:

1. The process we as caregivers acknowledge each new step – there is an acceptance period that we have to go through
2. The process we use to guide ourselves and our loved ones with dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease through the recognition phase of each step
3. The concrete, loving, and practical information on how we should respond and how we can help guide our loved ones’ responses

These are the things that make You Oughta Know: Acknowledging, Recognizing, and Responding to the Steps in the Journey Through Dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease unique and stand alone in the plethora of books about dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Excerpt “Chapter 3: “’Don’t Think I Know What to Read or Write or Say'”

“As more cells die, the functions that these areas of the brain control become more profoundly affected. Language function is controlled in a deeper portion of the temporal lobe, so in the case of just Alzheimer’s Disease, communication problems might not show up for a while.

However, if our loved ones are suffering from other dementias, such as vascular dementia which causes clusters of cell death through the brain, even the innermost parts, because of a stroke or chronic small-vessel ischemia (usually the result of mini-strokes or transient ischemic attacks, also known as TIA’s), then communication problems may occur sooner.

Regardless of how long it takes, communication problems are the third definitive step in the journey, whether it’s a short step or a longer step.

Communication problems in dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease include fall under the general term of aphasia.”