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Dementia
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SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE ISSUES It appears that the social construction of dementia has contributed to a substantial lack of knowledge, education, diagnosis, adequate care, support, love and understanding for both the carer and the sufferer. The individual accounts throughout these stories contribute and expand on this theory and highlight the difficulty professionals have in diagnosing and dealing with dementia. In some cases unusual strategies were suggested like sixteen-year old Cathy being offered Valium to cope with her Dad’s illness. Others like Anne and also Beth’s mother were given anti depressants that made their condition worse and some, like Dorothy, were undiagnosed for two years. Vera felt ‘that there were not many doctors who understood’ (Naughtin and Laidler 1991:161) and Beth was told by her doctor that her husband was ‘just malingering and had wasted five years of his life’ (p.87) and were further advised by a psychiatrist that her husband do a gardening job. Not all blame can be attributed to medicos however as research points out that the initial stages can be confused with ‘ageing symptoms’ and furthermore ‘deliberately masked by patients or their carers’ (Gruetzner 1992:44). The implications of no or misdiagnosis add more stress, distress and confusion to an already debilitating situation, further compounded by family and community ignorance. Beth’s son and Cathy were unable to bring their friends home not only for fear of how their parent would behave but because as Cathy explains her friends deserted her and ‘were afraid to come near our home’ (Naughtin and Laidler 1991:48). Vera found that she encountered a lot of denial from friends and relatives to a point where her daughter told her she was misinterpreting and ‘being paranoid’ (167). This was similar to Beth’s experience where she explains that she was shunned, by family and friends and abused after putting her husband in permanent care. Margaret, the professional worker explains how essential it is for service operators, family & friends and even neighbours to be supportive and understanding. She advises that professional’s impact on ‘the ability of carers to cope in these situations and that family, friends and neighbourhood support is considered in assessing if a sufferer can live at home’ (22). Lack of suitable facilities or long waiting lists add further stress since many carers often don’t report their situation until quite late in the disease or when they in a coping crisis.
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