Neuro Note #4

For my last Neuro Note, I watched the Ted Talk A visual diary: On dementia and caregiving given by Tony Luciani. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSfMx6Mr1eE. Luciani starts off talking about how his 91 year old mother was diagnosed with dementia and then moved in with him. He struggles with adapting from his normal routine of being independent and living on his own to caring for his mother. He felt lost until he had an 'aha' moment when he realized that his mother loved being in the photographs that he takes for fun. Luciani is an artist and photographer and he bonded with his mother through taking photos of her and using her as one of his subjects. Luciani learned quickly that even though his mother's short term memory was fading, she still remembered much of her childhood. They acted out scenes from her youth and he photographed them, which gave them both a sense of purpose. He kept her mind active by quizzing her about her youth and then staging photos depicting some of these scenes. Luciani describes the frustration and sadness that they both experienced, and reveals a quote that his mother said to him: "Why is it that my head is so full of things to say but once they reach my mouth I forget?" This struck home to me because of how frustrating it would be to know that you are forgetting and not being able to stop it. Luciani describes watching his mother's condition deteriorate and eventually moving into an assisted living residence 10 minutes from his home. It was no longer safe for her to live in his house. He goes on to say that he tries to truly be present and listen to her, even though she no longer knows his name. Interaction, participation, and involvement are the three things that Luciani stressed are so important for people with dementia. Everyone wants to feel loved even if they have a neurological condition. He describes how therapeutic it was doing something they both love together-photography. I chose this Ted Talk to watch because I did two internships at assisted living facilities in my undergraduate studies for a total of 680 hours. I worked with many people with dementia and wanted to know how I could create meaningful relationships with them and give them the best care that I could. I learned about how talking about their past memories is therapeutic for them and helps keep their memory skills and recall strong. I recommend this Ted Talk to anyone wanting to know more about dementia and both the stresses it can place on a caregiver, and the rewards that it can reap.