Interview with Sandra Vaughn
Director of the Dementia Unit at the Bristal in Westbury
Reflection on Interview
Dementia is a degenerative condition in which a person experiences loss of memory. People with dementia also experience trouble with language (having trouble speaking and forgetting the right word), difficulty moving around, or difficulty planning. Because dementia is the name for a group of these symptoms, it is not the actual disease. Alzheimer's is a type of dementia, but there are many other types. Generally, people who develop dementia are in their eighties.
Sandra Vaughn is the director of the dementia unit at the Bristal in Westbury. Graham, Gabby, and I interviewed her about dementia, memory loss, and how this affects identity. She did not want to be recorded in any way, so her responses are incorporated here. Dementia has two sides. On one side, people can go back to old memories. On the other side, people cannot remember recent events. This could cause the people to have split personalities. Dementia affects the personality of the patient. The patient may become more aggressive, but this can be monitored with medication. Pieces of the personality remain with the person forever, but many parts tend to slip away. Emotions are part of what make up a person’s identity. When emotion and personality changes occur, a person’s sense of identity is altered. They do not respond to situations the way in which they normally would. The people around them notice this change in their identity and personality.
Identities also change. Patients can “act up” at night and when there is a full moon. Also, when the sun is down, the dementia is worse. Early in the morning, the patients are better and can remember things better than later on in the day. There are also fleeting memories that can be experienced.
Part of a person’s personality is their values, or what they care about. Some people will always care about their appearances, and this will never change, though it will be slightly different. For example, someone who always cared what they looked like might get their hair done weekly but may stop wearing makeup. This person still cares about what they look like and will not see anyone if her hair is not done, but parts of what she used to care about (concerning her appearance) are no longer there.
Often, the patients do not know that they have dementia. Although they can tell you about their childhoods and be correct, their details may get mixed up. For example, they may tell you about one person but be incorporating facts about three different people in this one person’s character. They will insist that they remember correctly, and they often are unaware of or refuse to recognize the fact that they have dementia and have forgotten. When a person begins to forget their childhood or the details of their childhood, they lose part of what makes them who they are. Memories and childhood events help build up a person’s identity, and the loss of this is a loss of identity.
Dementia affects some areas of the brain that are necessary to complete tasks. Certain parts of the brain shrinks, and the brain is deprived of oxygen due to disruptions in the blood flow to the brain. Often, patients need help with simple tasks such as getting dressed, eating, or trouble getting from place to place. Patients also lose some of their dignity because they cannot be self-sufficient. They need someone to help them and lose their independence. In addition, the loss of self that joins the loss of ability and memories adds to the loss of dignity. How can you have self-pride when you have a limited knowledge of who you are and of your identity?
Some memories have been ingrained into a person’s memory and identity. These memories are usually traumatic. Memories of the Holocaust or Nazi Germany from childhood will never leave people. If people come from a foreign country and speak a foreign language, they will tend to revert back to that language. If one speaks to that person in English, they will be able to respond in English (if they ever learned English), because language is a skill, not a memory. All of these are memories or skills that are a very important aspect of people’s identity that they cannot be lost or forgotten.
There are different ways to help bring back memory or slow dementia’s course. Music can help bring back memories, especially if the patients are involved with the music. This means that they would be playing the instrument or singing along. Still, just hearing the music helps stir memories and simply helps with memory. Hearing a family member or friend’s voice also helps to bring back memories. Not only will the person remember their loved one through the sound of their voice, but hearing a loved one’s voice and speaking to a loved one will help the person bring back old memories. Smells also bring back memories. Objects can help with memory, too. If a person’s belongings are brought to them, he/she may remember them. Places, such as houses he/she used to live in, will help even more because the person had spent a lot of time there. All of these memories help build up a person’s identity, and by reintroducing them or continuing to give them to the people, one is helping the people hold onto their identities.
The family of the person with dementia will be affected by all of this, of course. They recognize the changes in personality, perception of identity, and values. They notice how a person has changed. It saddens the family to learn that the person cannot remember information about them. They try to slow dementia’s progress, but there is a limited amount of help a family can give. The family can help to preserve this person’s identity by caring about what that person used to care about and encouraging him/her to continue to do activities he/she enjoys. All of this will help preserve identity in a person who is losing his/her identity throughout time.
Sandra Vaughn is the director of the dementia unit at the Bristal in Westbury. Graham, Gabby, and I interviewed her about dementia, memory loss, and how this affects identity. She did not want to be recorded in any way, so her responses are incorporated here. Dementia has two sides. On one side, people can go back to old memories. On the other side, people cannot remember recent events. This could cause the people to have split personalities. Dementia affects the personality of the patient. The patient may become more aggressive, but this can be monitored with medication. Pieces of the personality remain with the person forever, but many parts tend to slip away. Emotions are part of what make up a person’s identity. When emotion and personality changes occur, a person’s sense of identity is altered. They do not respond to situations the way in which they normally would. The people around them notice this change in their identity and personality.
Identities also change. Patients can “act up” at night and when there is a full moon. Also, when the sun is down, the dementia is worse. Early in the morning, the patients are better and can remember things better than later on in the day. There are also fleeting memories that can be experienced.
Part of a person’s personality is their values, or what they care about. Some people will always care about their appearances, and this will never change, though it will be slightly different. For example, someone who always cared what they looked like might get their hair done weekly but may stop wearing makeup. This person still cares about what they look like and will not see anyone if her hair is not done, but parts of what she used to care about (concerning her appearance) are no longer there.
Often, the patients do not know that they have dementia. Although they can tell you about their childhoods and be correct, their details may get mixed up. For example, they may tell you about one person but be incorporating facts about three different people in this one person’s character. They will insist that they remember correctly, and they often are unaware of or refuse to recognize the fact that they have dementia and have forgotten. When a person begins to forget their childhood or the details of their childhood, they lose part of what makes them who they are. Memories and childhood events help build up a person’s identity, and the loss of this is a loss of identity.
Dementia affects some areas of the brain that are necessary to complete tasks. Certain parts of the brain shrinks, and the brain is deprived of oxygen due to disruptions in the blood flow to the brain. Often, patients need help with simple tasks such as getting dressed, eating, or trouble getting from place to place. Patients also lose some of their dignity because they cannot be self-sufficient. They need someone to help them and lose their independence. In addition, the loss of self that joins the loss of ability and memories adds to the loss of dignity. How can you have self-pride when you have a limited knowledge of who you are and of your identity?
Some memories have been ingrained into a person’s memory and identity. These memories are usually traumatic. Memories of the Holocaust or Nazi Germany from childhood will never leave people. If people come from a foreign country and speak a foreign language, they will tend to revert back to that language. If one speaks to that person in English, they will be able to respond in English (if they ever learned English), because language is a skill, not a memory. All of these are memories or skills that are a very important aspect of people’s identity that they cannot be lost or forgotten.
There are different ways to help bring back memory or slow dementia’s course. Music can help bring back memories, especially if the patients are involved with the music. This means that they would be playing the instrument or singing along. Still, just hearing the music helps stir memories and simply helps with memory. Hearing a family member or friend’s voice also helps to bring back memories. Not only will the person remember their loved one through the sound of their voice, but hearing a loved one’s voice and speaking to a loved one will help the person bring back old memories. Smells also bring back memories. Objects can help with memory, too. If a person’s belongings are brought to them, he/she may remember them. Places, such as houses he/she used to live in, will help even more because the person had spent a lot of time there. All of these memories help build up a person’s identity, and by reintroducing them or continuing to give them to the people, one is helping the people hold onto their identities.
The family of the person with dementia will be affected by all of this, of course. They recognize the changes in personality, perception of identity, and values. They notice how a person has changed. It saddens the family to learn that the person cannot remember information about them. They try to slow dementia’s progress, but there is a limited amount of help a family can give. The family can help to preserve this person’s identity by caring about what that person used to care about and encouraging him/her to continue to do activities he/she enjoys. All of this will help preserve identity in a person who is losing his/her identity throughout time.
Works Cited
Stults, Michael G. “Dementia in Our Kids - the Uninvited Thief.” Niemann-Pick Children’s Fund, Inc. Niemann-Pick Children’s Fund, Inc, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 11 May 2011. <http://www.npcfund.org/blog/dementia-in-our-kids-%e2%80%93-the-uninvited-thief/>.
University of Maryland Medical Center, comp. “Dementia.” University of Maryland Medical Center. A.D.A.M., 2011. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dementia-000046.htm>.
WebMD. “Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Forms of Dementia.” WebMD. WebMD, LLC, 2009. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/alzheimers-dementia?page=2>.
University of Maryland Medical Center, comp. “Dementia.” University of Maryland Medical Center. A.D.A.M., 2011. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dementia-000046.htm>.
WebMD. “Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Forms of Dementia.” WebMD. WebMD, LLC, 2009. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/alzheimers-dementia?page=2>.
