Today I wanted to reblog an article by Jami L.Hede, M.S., CCC/SLP Dementia Myths Debunked from her blog Exploring Dementia. There are still so many myths out there, and I regularly have staff who work in aged and dementia care ask me Is Alzheimer’s dementia, which was why I wrote that article a while ago.

Jami wrote:

“Our body of knowledge about the various dementias is expanding by leaps and bounds, almost on a daily basis. Even so, there are still a lot of misunderstandings out there, held both by the general public and by professionals, with regard to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. This article is an effort to address some of those misconceptions, and to provide a more complete understanding of the diseases involved.

MYTH: Alzheimer’s disease is inherited. If my mother/father/brother/etc. has it, then that means I will get it, too.

FACT: A very small percentage (5-10%) of Alzheimer’s cases are due to genetic causes. The vast majority of cases are due to other causes. Read more…

The other myth out there, even within many who have been diagnosed is that people with dementia are not capable of the things they were the day before the diagnosis, which is simply not true.  The prescribed disengagement we are mostly given sets us up to think we must give up our pre-diagnosis life, which for people with younger onset dementia is wrong. But that is another blog!!