What may seem like hallucinations in people with dementia may, in fact, be symptoms of deteriorating vision.
Howard Solomons, PhD, writes in this "Vision and Dementia" paper from 2005 about the way our eyes deteriorate as we age. People with Alzheimer's or dementia face those issues, plus they may face disturbances that originate in their brains, rather than their eyes. "That is, their problem can be having difficulty perceiving what they see rather than how sharply they see it," Solomons describes. "Problems most commonly occur in four areas – motion, depth, colour and contrast. Visual hallucinations have been reported to increase with loss of visual acuity in some Alzheimer’s patients."
It's something of which to be aware.
Teepa Snow, from the video above, trains caregivers and family members of dementia patients. Check out her Web site.
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