Cognitive Impairment – A person with Dementia

Cognitive Impairment – A person with Dementia

Hello,

I agree with you: honestly, I also initially had difficulty following the instructions to comprehend the eventual goal of the provided instructions. However, as you pointed out, adhering to the instructions only makes one realize that the context would be a daunting and challenging task to accomplish. After all, turning one’s head to the left side where one had held the mirror and tilting the mirror to reflect the pen and paper on the table would make drawing what was required via the generated image difficult.

I also agree with your highlighted context regarding dementia patients and how they perceive real-world settings. This is centered on how an individual diagnosed with dementia is increasingly frustrated by certain activities within the normal world settings that they are cognizant of (Avila-Villanueva et al., 2022). I also agree that attempting to make the house and clock drawings from the mirror image generates an impression of complexities. The context is based on the initial impression you can draw in the mirror image. As you proceed to carry out the task, the generated challenge of processing what the instructions require arises as you realize the seemingly impossible task cannot be carried out.

Remarkably, your explanation of the scenario further adds to scientific proof that underlines how cognitive impairment steers the development of dementia. Avila-Villanueva et al. (2022) further support the claim that cognitive impairment alters one’s usually sound judgment competency, negatively impacting one’s personality and mood. The context is also significant for facilitating depressive, anxious, and apathetic states (Avila-Villanueva et al., 2022). An example supporting this claim is when you pointed out that you only realized that you could not make the drawings within the mirror image. In this regard, the miscalculation seemed funny at first, then changed the underlying emotional state as you felt frustrated that you completely misjudged what the instructions required.

References

Avila-Villanueva, M., Dolado , A. M., & Gomez-Ramirez , J. (2022). Brain Structural and Functional Changes in Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886619

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Cognitive Impairment – A person with Dementia

Materials:  Small hand-held mirrors

Instructions:

1. Take out a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.
2. Pick up the mirror in your left hand (right hand if you are left-handed)
3. Hold the mirror up at your left shoulder so that you can look into it by turning your head to the left (right shoulder if you are left-handed.)
4. While looking into the mirror, tilt the mirror down so you can see the paper on your desk.
5. Looking only into the mirror, draw a house.
6. Still looking only into the mirror, draw a clock showing the correct time.

Discussion:

This exercise gives you some idea of what the world might seem like to a person with dementia. What did it feel like to try to draw through the mirror image?

What did it feel like to try to draw through the mirror image? Honestly, just reading the instructions confused me at first. I had to reread the instructions to understand what I was supposed to be doing with each hand. After I understood I was drawing in a mirror, I had confidence I could do it and immediately realized I was wrong. I tried so hard to make a square for the house, but I thought the clock would be easier when I couldn’t. Nope. I couldn’t even draw the circle, even though I’d drawn a circle a million times, even with my eyes closed. However, when I did it in the reflection, I didn’t know how my hand was moving. I can understand how the world may differ for someone with dementia because I have spent all my life learning and practicing how to hold my pen, draw a circle/square, and write numbers. When one part of the process was different or new, I forgot the rest of the steps and everything I learned. Someone with dementia is slowly unlearning parts of tasks they did daily because pieces are missing or misplaced, which disrupts the whole process. I was in a good mood and laughed the first time I tried drawing the house; then I tried it again, which frustrated me because I thought I could do it, but it was still difficult. Someone with dementia might be having a good day with their activities and memory; then, one task can completely change their mood and make them become withdrawn.

Why do simple things become difficult for people with dementia? Alzheimer’s Research UK. (2021, December 17). Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/kids/juniors/what-is-dementia/why-do-simple-things-become-difficult-for-people-with-dementia/ Links to an external site.