Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease can lead to a lot of questions, but the Oregon chapter of the national Alzheimer’s Association will be putting on classes this March where people can have those questions answered in free events through the month.
Those either with, or caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease will have the chance to learn more regarding the ailment as the Oregon chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association will be hosting community education courses in Clark County this March.
Three different classes will be offered by the association next month, covering the basics of the disease, effective communication strategies as well as how to keep the mind and body healthy even with the disease. Classes are free, but do require prior registration.
Coming up on March 9 will be the “effective communication strategies” class, which will look into how communication happens with someone with the disease. The program promises to help individuals “learn to decode” the messages, both verbal and behavioral, in order to better connect.
“As a family member, when you are caring for someone at home with Alzheimer’s disease, your communication changes,” Alzheimer’s Association Oregon Chapter Program Director Heidi Rowell said. “It’s no longer the same as the communication you were able to have during your regular adult life.”
Rowell gave an example of frustrated caregivers attempting to argue with the individual with the disease regarding their perceptions of reality. The class would go over some ways to redirect certain behaviors to cope with the altered perception of someone with the disease.
Rowell said the association has been offering educational classes for years, but this year was different for Clark County. For 2018 the Oregon chapter of the association will be taking on the classes. She explained the reason for the change was due to the Oregon chapter, with offices in Portland, having greater ease of access to the county, rather than the Lynnwood-based Washington and Northern Idaho chapter.
The following class March 21 is titled “The Basics” which will cover much of that basic information caregivers need to be successful, Rowell explained. The class would also cover some of the misconceptions regarding the disease, with Rowell touching on a few of the bigger points of misinformation. Although the disease affects mental ability, Rowell stressed that unlike mental illness there was a definitive physical cause involving deterioration of brain tissue.
“I think there is still some stigma around the disease, that it might be looked at as a mental health issue, versus (that) this is a physical process that people are undergoing that’s causing this,” Rowell said.
Another misconception was that the disease can only be truly diagnosed with an autopsy, something that was a case in the past and many still believe, Rowell said.
The March 28 class is titled “Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body,” and will look at current research in the areas of diet and nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity and social engagement.
Although there is no definitive research saying that there’s any dietary cause for Alzheimer’s, Rowell mentioned an upcoming study titled “U.S. POINTER” that will look at diet and lifestyle modifications and its effect on the disease.
Even without that definitive connection, Rowell explained the healthy living class was about “taking care of yourself” essentially, noting that some dietarily-linked problems such as the simultaneous presence of other diseases or conditions like heart disease are risk factors for Alzheimer’s.
For all three events the classes would be beneficial for caregivers as well as those with earlier stages of the disease, though Rowell said those in the latter group should be accepting with their diagnosis when going into a class.
The healthy living class could also be beneficial to what Rowell calls the “worried well” — people who might be in the demographic for the disease and are looking for ways to prevent or mitigate any possible effects should they receive a diagnosis later on.
As to why have the classes, Rowell stressed the epidemic nature of the disease, especially in Washington state. She mentioned that Alzheimer’s kills more people than breast and prostate cancers combined, with 110,000 Washington residents 65 and older living with the disease. Although the disease is the sixth-leading cause of death nationally, in Washington it’s the third.
