4.1 Describe how different individuals may experience living with dementia depending on age, type of dementia, and level of ability and disability

Depending on the form of dementia people’s ability and disability will will be different. People with dementia may not necessarily always be forgetful, for example an individual with Fronto-temporal dementia may be less forgetful than a person suffering from Alzheimer disease. Their memory may remain intact but their personality and behaviour could be noticeably changed.Dementia with Lewy bodies interrupts the brain’s normal functioning and affect the person’s memory, concentration and speech skills. It has similar symptoms to Parkinson’s disease such as tremors, slowness of movement and speech difficulties. People with vascular dementia may suffer from incontinence or seizure where other types of dementia may not affect those.
However the level of ability and disability depend on individual’s age and condition of dementia, people who are living with dementia in earlier age such as 60’s-70’s are less likely to be as dependable on others than people living with dementia at the age of over their 70’s or 80’s. People also have different levels of stamina at different ages, so their ability and disability may vary and the level of support they require will be varied as well.
There is little awareness or understanding of the needs of people who develop dementia at an early age, and this can make it very difficult for younger people to access adequate support.
There are sometimes significant age-related barriers for younger people trying to get access to dementia services. If no specialist services exist, younger people with dementia can find themselves lost between services, none of which will accept responsibility for their care.
Even if dementia services accept younger users, the type of care they provide may not be appropriate. The needs of younger people with dementia and their friends and family are not just related to age. Younger people may have different concerns and interests to older people. A service set up for people of a different generation, where activities are planned for older people who are less physical, is unlikely to meet the needs of younger people. Younger people with dementia require specialist services that are able to meet their complex needs. Specialist services should strive to help people maintain their day-to-day skills, friendships, hobbies and interests, and support people to continue to live an active life as a member of the local community.