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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Hallucinations Are Real To Patients With Dementia, R. C. Hamdy, Amber E. Kinser, J. V. Lewis, Rebecca Copeland Dec 2017

Hallucinations Are Real To Patients With Dementia, R. C. Hamdy, Amber E. Kinser, J. V. Lewis, Rebecca Copeland

ETSU Faculty Works

In this case study, we present a patient with preexistent posttraumatic stress disorder and psychosis who has been recently diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies. He is experiencing vivid hallucinations. What went wrong between him and his wife as a result of these hallucinations is presented. Alternative actions that could have been used are suggested.


Too Many Choices Confuse Patients With Dementia, R. C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Amber Kinser, A. Depelteau, Rebecca Copeland, T. Kendall-Wilson, K. Whalen Dec 2017

Too Many Choices Confuse Patients With Dementia, R. C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Amber Kinser, A. Depelteau, Rebecca Copeland, T. Kendall-Wilson, K. Whalen

ETSU Faculty Works

Choices are often difficult to make by patients with Alzheimer Dementia. They often become acutely confused when faced with too many options because they are not able to retain in their working memory enough information about the various individual choices available. In this case study, we describe how an essentially simple benign task (choosing a dress to wear) can rapidly escalate and result in a catastrophic outcome. We examine what went wrong in the patient/caregiver interaction and how that potentially catastrophic situation could have been avoided or defused.


Patients With Dementia Are Easy Victims To Predators, Ronald C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Rebecca Copeland, Audrey Depelteau, Amber E. Kinser, T. Kendall-Wilson, Kathleen Whalen Dec 2017

Patients With Dementia Are Easy Victims To Predators, Ronald C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Rebecca Copeland, Audrey Depelteau, Amber E. Kinser, T. Kendall-Wilson, Kathleen Whalen

ETSU Faculty Works

Patients with dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease and particularly those in early stages, are susceptible to become victims of predators: Their agnosia (see Case 1) prevents them from detecting and accurately interpreting subtle signals that otherwise would have alerted them that they are about to fall for a scam. Furthermore, their judgment is impaired very early in the disease process, often before other symptoms manifest themselves and usually before a diagnosis is made. Patients with early stages of dementia are therefore prime targets for unscrupulous predators, and it behooves caregivers and health care professionals to ensure the integrity of these patients. …


Big Mama And The Uncertain Leap, Kelly A. Dorgan Sep 2017

Big Mama And The Uncertain Leap, Kelly A. Dorgan

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt:I live in a place that evokes fear, a place deformed by layers and layers of pulse-racing images, of intoxicating whiskey-dark stories.


Taking Care, Kelly A. Dorgan Sep 2017

Taking Care, Kelly A. Dorgan

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: It’s July 26, 2010, late. I’ve sunk onto the edge of the bed in my childhood home. The bedroom reminds me of one of those cozy, pretty Valentine’s Day shoeboxes I made back in elementary school: small, pink, white, flowery.


The Truth About The Surrender Of My Foster Child, Kelly A. Dorgan Aug 2017

The Truth About The Surrender Of My Foster Child, Kelly A. Dorgan

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: My best efforts at parenting weren’t enough to make him stay. My son no longer wanted to call me “Mom.”


Patients With Dementia Are Easily Distracted, Ronald C. Hamdy, Amber Kinser, Audrey Depelteau, Tracey Kendall-Wilson, J. V. Lewis, Kathleen Whalen Jan 2017

Patients With Dementia Are Easily Distracted, Ronald C. Hamdy, Amber Kinser, Audrey Depelteau, Tracey Kendall-Wilson, J. V. Lewis, Kathleen Whalen

ETSU Faculty Works

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the middle ground between normal, age-appropriate memory impairment, and dementia. Whereas patients with MCI are able to cope with the memory deficit, those with dementia are not: Their memory impairment and other cognitive deficits are of sufficient magnitude to interfere with the patients’ ability to cope independently with daily activities. In both MCI and dementia, there is evidence of declining cognitive functions from a previously higher level of functioning. In both the conditions, there is also an evidence of dysfunction in one or more cognitive domains. There are two subtypes of MCI depending on whether …


Too Many Choices Confuse Patients With Dementia, Ronald C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Amber Kinser, Audrey Depelteau, Rebecca Copeland, Tracey Kendall-Wilson, Kathleen Whalen Jan 2017

Too Many Choices Confuse Patients With Dementia, Ronald C. Hamdy, J. V. Lewis, Amber Kinser, Audrey Depelteau, Rebecca Copeland, Tracey Kendall-Wilson, Kathleen Whalen

ETSU Faculty Works

Choices are often difficult to make by patients with Alzheimer Dementia. They often become acutely confused when faced with too many options because they are not able to retain in their working memory enough information about the various individual choices available. In this case study, we describe how an essentially simple benign task (choosing a dress to wear) can rapidly escalate and result in a catastrophic outcome. We examine what went wrong in the patient/caregiver interaction and how that potentially catastrophic situation could have been avoided or defused.