Question

Mr. Heron is a client of your agency. He lives in a retirement home but uses home-support services from your agency two mornings a week. You have been visiting Mr. Heron for a month now. Although he is forgetful, he is a precise person who has definite preferences as to how things should be done. Four times out of the eight times you have visited Mr. Heron, he has met you at the elevator near his room. Sometimes he is fully dressed; sometimes he is only partially dressed. He is always very anxious. He tells you, “The train is leaving and I have to get on it or I will be late.” You know that Mr. Heron was a high-school principal who lived in Mississauga and worked in downtown Toronto.

a. Explain how Mr. Heron’s personality traits contribute to his reaction? (2 marks)

b. If Mr. Heron’s diagnosis is Alzheimer’s disease, how might memory loss contribute to his reaction? (2 marks)

c. Using effective communication techniques, how would you respond to Mr. Heron’s statement? Explain why this response would be helpful. (4 marks)

Answer 1

Answer: Due to the mental disease, Mr. Heron is unable to think about the present. He sometimes lives in the past because he still remember everything about the past. He is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

In the Alzheimer's disease there is progressive disorder of mental activity, it is an irreversible brain disorder that slowly and steadily destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks such as normal functioning of life.

Patient with Alzheimer's disease should be cared more efficiently and needs lots of patience. Mr. Heron's should be reminded about his retirement and the present situation that he is not in his job now, he should go back to his home.