Question

Karl Brown is a 76-year-old man who has a 2-year history of having Alzheimer disease (AD). He has become increasingly depressed and paranoid, recently started a fire in the kitchen, and yesterday fell down a partial flight of stairs. His children have come to the Alzheimer unit at your extended care facility to discuss the possibility of placing K.B. You assure the family of your experience in addressing the questions and concerns of most people in their situation.

AD typically proceeds through 7 general stages. For the first part of your post, place in order the stages of AD below (order them by listing the letter for each stage -e.g., x, y, z …):
a. Memory lapses are beginning to occur, though no one else notices.
b. The person cannot respond to the environment or control movements.
c. Family and friends begin to notice problems with memory and judgment.
d. Personality changes take place and the person needs help with ADLs.
e. The person is not yet experiencing any memory problems or impairments.
f. Difficulty performing complex tasks and arithmetic becomes obvious.
g. The person begins to need help with day-to-day activities.

• After ordering the stages, based on what the family has said, which stage would you determine Karl is in?
• Please give a detailed rationale as to why you have made this determination.

Answer 1

Stages of AD

e. The person is not yet experiencing any memory problems or impairments.

a. Memory lapses are beginning to occur, though no one else notices.

c. Family and friends begin to notice problems with memory and judgment.

f. Difficulty performing complex tasks and arithmetic becomes obvious.

g. The person begins to need help with day-to-day activities.

b. The person cannot respond to the environment or control movements.

d. Personality changes take place and the person needs help with ADLs.

Which stage would you determine Karl is in?

c. Family and friends begin to notice problems with memory and judgment.

As he has cognitive problems and cannot perform even menial jobs properly and needs constant help and supervision, Mr. Karl is in 3 rd stage of Alzhemier's disease.