Dos and Don'ts of communicating with a person with Dementia

Shaila Bhagwat, 67 has Parkinson's which affects her right-side. She makes every effort to remain independent and self-reliant with an assorted and strict regimen of exercises, yoga, meditation, laughter and music therapy, gait training, handwriting practice, knowledge building, among other resolutions. Four years ago, I had a tendon tear in the right shoulder and had a suture anchor inserted. It took me 2 months to recover from my surgery with the help of physiotherapy. But unfortunately, as…

Sometimes willpower can knock out even health adversities. As in the case of 72-year-old Rajendra M Thakkar, retired General Manager of Reserve Bank of India, who straightened out his speech impairment, a symptom of Parkinson’s, through sheer grit and diligent exercises. When my Parkinson’s set in a few years back, I was in the midst of cardiological issues and bypass surgery, and didn’t pay much attention to the mild trembling of my hands and legs. But when my speech started getting affected…

Mr Hari Prasad, who underwent the Deep Brain Stimulation operation about 3 years back to stall growing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, is a happy and relaxed person today, sharing his views on PD and DBS. Hari, how many years has it been since you had the DBS operation? Exactly three years. (Operation done end of March 2015) Read how Hari stopped popping pills for Parkinson's Disease every 2 hours  Has it been smooth for you since you had the operation? More or less. There has been no…

After a stroke nearly 20-40 per cent patients develop communication problems or aphasia, the inability to comprehend and formulate language because of damage to specific language areas in the brain. Dr Sujata Gandhi, Speech Therapist, Nanavati Hospital, advises that speech and language therapy is the best way to restore normalcy and quality of life. How does a stroke or ‘brain attack’ affect speech and communication? A stroke causes damage to the Speech and Language areas of the brain. For most…

Talking and writing about health related experiences is still not common in Asia.  This International Women’s Day, we reach out to three dynamic women who share their experience as patient or caregiver to understand their motivations. We kick off the first in a three-part series with Sangeeta Murthi Sahgal.  1)    Your father had Parkinson's Disease. Why did you choose to talk and share about your father's condition? When I took over my father's care-giving, I researched the…

Ms. Malavika M. Nair and Ms. Aakriti Vig under the guidance of DEMCARES, SCARF India write about the stressors that lead to challenging behaviours of Dementia and how to handle them.   Dementia is recognized as a global health concern. It is estimated that nearly 47.5 million of the global population is diagnosed with dementia (WHO, 2017). It is a neurocognitive disorder, which is primarily prevalent in the elderly population. The symptoms include significant memory loss with…

Raju PK,60 from Ernakulam, Kerala deals with Parkinson’s Disease in his own way, sticking to proper medication and exercises. He shares his hacks and tips to facilitate movement in the house. Please tell us a bit about your condition. I am suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I was diagnosed in the year 2009. What were the early symptoms? Sometimes while walking, my left hand remained static, and sometimes while operating the laptop, my fingers would shiver. Is there a history of Parkinson’s…

Brain exercises are among the most effective non-medical approaches to delay the onset of dementia and can be enjoyable for the patient and more likely to be complied, emphasises Sabah Thaver, senior physical therapist (neurorehabilitation) at Nanavati Hospital. Mark Twain once famously said, “Out of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.” This line at first sounds humorous, but it turns out to be the bitter truth of the lives of those living with conditions like Dementia. People…

All dementia is not about memory loss. Neha Sinha, a clinical psychologist by training and dementia specialist, discusses the symptoms as well as ways of handling Fronto-temporal Dementia (FTD), a lesser known form of dementia. Fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) is one of the lesser-known types of dementia and equally or more challenging to handle than the others. It accounts for about 5-10% of cases of dementia (Source: ARDSI Dementia India report 2010) Named after the famous physician Arnold Pick…

Dance and Movement Therapy can effectively complement traditional exercise to improve motor, psychological, cognitive and social abilities of people with Parkinson’s. Tejali Kunte, Clinical Psychologist, Dance and Movement therapist at Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society (PDMDS) delves into its numerous advantages. Tejali, you are a dance and movement therapist and a clinical psychologist. Could you tell us a little bit about your work? Yes, I am a dance performer, clinical…