Question

Read the Case Study below and determine which psychological disorder they are displaying. Then write a 400 word essay discussing which disorder they are displaying and what symptoms they are displaying to draw your conclusion of the diagnosis. Include all relevant information from the case study and your textbook about the disorder.

Background Information

Alice Howland is a Caucasian female who is 50 years old. She currently works as a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard University. Overall, Howland presents as a healthy 50-year-old woman. Howland is a petite woman, but not underweight. Howland remains active in her work and social life and other than leading a hectic life appears happy. Howland lives with her husband (John) and the two have three grown children, all of which live out of the home. Howland maintains many close friendships and is in a stable, long-term relationship. Howland does not have any reported drug or alcohol related history. Howland states that she may have a glass or two of wine with dinner, but the only medication she takes is a multivitamin. Howland has not had any head injuries or serious health issues. Howland’s mother and sister died in a car accident when she was 18 and her father died the previous year from Cirrhosis of the liver. Howland allowed that her father was an alcoholic and that they did not have much contact over the last several years before his death.

Description of the Problem

Howland frequently exhibits disorientation and gets lost when she is only a few blocks from her home. She recognizes the building and knows that she is supposed to know how to get home, but her mind is blank. Howland frequently misplaces items and is unable to find them. At times, she replaces items and later finds the lost item. She frequently loses her train of thought, or is unable to remember significant details of her life. As a professor, she often visited other universities as a guest speaker or would present at conferences, lately, she would lose track near the middle to end of her lecture and have to refer to her notes. This was not common for Howland as she used her speeches repeatedly only making small changes that were easy to remember. Howland reports forgetting words during a lecture, she states that it is not even on the tip of her tongue; the word is just completely gone from her memory. Howland recently missed a conference in Chicago, simply because she forgot about it. Howland also states that she has to write down a detailed schedule of what time and where her classes are or she will simply forget to go teach them.

Answer 1

Looking at the symptoms of Alice Howland sickness, it looks like she is suffering from the early onset of Alzheimer. It is an uncommon form of dementia that strikes people younger than age 65, sometimes as early as 40 years of age.

The symptoms that are related to early onset of Alzheimer that is a brain disorder it affects the memory, causing a slow decline of memory, the most common symptoms include 1.forgetting recently learned information 2. Forgetting important dates or events, 3. Increasingly needing to rely on memory aids such as reminder notes 4. Forgetting names or appointments, but remember it later, 5. Difficulty in concentrating 6.trouble driving to a familiar location 7. Lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time, 8 stop in the middle of the conversation and do not know how to start it 9. Have to struggle with vocabulary, 10 use poor judgments while dealing with the household matter, 11. As they start feeling out of place their social activities are hindered,12 all these effects the personality of the patient he becomes more confused, depressed, suspicious, fearful.

Alice Howland shows similar symptoms, like disorientation and gets lost when she is only a few blocks from her home, she frequently, misplaces items and is unable to find them, she loses the track of her lecture, and search for the word in the middle of her speech, she had missed a conference in Chicago, just because she did not remember the date, because of that she has to maintain the record of her events, lectures, that she should not miss it.

Looking at her family life, it does not show any conflict between the couple, their children are grown up and staying separately, her mother had died when she was very young and she did not have much contact with her father.

The early onset of Alzheimer is usually found in families where parents or grandparents had a history of Alzheimer.

The early onset of the disease disrupts the whole family, on diagnosing the disorder at the right time, may help the family members to prepare themselves, and work together, in helping her, as these people lose social contacts and have very, or no interest in life, as it makes them confused and depressed, it affects the speech and people start behaving in a strange manner, as they find going out of the house a risky equation, they confine themselves in their homes. Alice Howland is also going through the same pattern of disturbances, it has just started, and gradually it will increase, as she has noticed it earlier, she is aware of it and taking care wherever possible.