Alzheimer's...Disease or Disability?

Alzheimer'sÐ'...Disease or Disability

For many decades now, people all over the world have suffered from a terrible disease by the name of Alzheimer's. Even before it was first discovered by Alois Alzheimer in 1906, it had claimed the lives of millions and it only continues to get worse. There have been hundreds of different studies that have linked the onset of Alzheimer's to multiple causes, but there has yet to be a discovery that identifies a single cause to the disease. Not only are we clueless about the cause, we are still searching for a cure. Over the years, we have found many ways to slow down the process of this terrible disease, some of which I will discuss later, but still come up short-handed when it comes to the cure. Alzheimer's strikes the homes of millions of households each year, 4.5 million to be exact; however, there is still a gap in society whenever it comes to knowledge about the disease.

"Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer's progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, as well as delusions or hallucinations." (Alzheimer's association 1). Alzheimer's is a form of dementia, the most common form actually. Dementia is basically a group of conditions or diseases which all progressively deteriorate and destroy brain cells causing a decline in mental function. One form of dementia called Vascular dementia, which occurs from a lack or reduced blood flow to the brain's nerve cells, has been known to occur together with Alzheimer's forming a condition called "mixed dementia." Because Alzheimer's is referred to and is commonly known as a disease that progressively and/or gradually destroys a person's memory, there have been many studies and cases that try to place the progression into different stages of severity. Some cases say there are three stages while others say five; however, the study that I found most appropriate and easy to classify an individual with was a seven stage process designed by Barry Reisberg, M.D., Clinical Director of the New York University School of Medicine's Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center. Dr. Reisberg's seven stages progress from "very mild" to "very severe," all of which he has assigned some common symptoms. Here is a brief outline of Dr. Reisberg's seven stages of Alzheimer's and each stage's severity:

Stage 1: No Impairment

Stage 2: Very mild decline

Stage 3: Mild decline

Stage 4: Moderate decline (mild or early stage)

Stage 5: Moderately severe decline (moderate or mid-stage)

Stage 6: Severe decline (moderately sever or mid-stage)

Stage 7: Very severe decline (severe or late stage)

The symptoms of these stages do not start getting very serious until about stage 5 where the individual will start "Having trouble with less challenging mental arithmetic and need help choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion." (Alzheimer's association 2). Alzheimer's has not been classified as a disability, but it seems as though when an individual has progressed into stages 4-5 it is as if they are disabled if not worse. Which brings up an interesting question, at what point/stage should a person with Alzheimer's disease be classified as having a disability? In order to answer this question, one must first look at the definition of a disability.

According to my notes from 8/25/05 a disability is something that prevents or makes it harder for a person to accomplish or participate in an everyday activity. What further must be defined is everyday activity. What should everyday activity consist of and are some everyday activities more important than others? I consider an everyday activity as simply being an act or event in which an individual participates in every single day. Therefore, eating, drinking, sleeping, moving around and so on are all considered everyday activities. Furthermore, I also believe that brushing your teeth, showering, and combing your hair are all everyday activities; however, these last few examples are much less important than eating, sleeping or using the restroom. So it is obvious that some everyday activities are more important than others. Another thing to consider is if a person has a condition that impedes on his/her performance of a lesser everyday activity, then is this person considered to have a disability or not? I believe that in order to answer this question one must consider if they believe in the letter of the law or the word of the law. The letter of the law is the belief of following a law or rule to the exact word. This would mean that somebody with two broken arms has a disability because that makes it harder for them to brush their teeth everyday. On the other hand if one is to follow the word of the law then they would be more likely to realize that there are exceptions to the definition and that a person's condition would have to impede on the more important everyday activities. Well here is where a problem lies. With Alzheimer's, at the earlier stages, people are able to perform the less important everyday function and the more important everyday activities are starting to show some impairment. Then as Alzheimer's progresses into the later stages and the symptoms become worse then that is when the individual will start to see problems in performing everyday activities. Taking this into consideration, at what stage should Alzheimer's be considered a disability? And should we follow the word of the law or the letter of the law to define a disability? Personally, I think other aspects should be considered first before we answer these questions, such as the impact that Alzheimer's not only has on the individual themselves, but the impact the disease has on the family members and also society as a whole.

Alzheimer's not only affects the individual that has this terrible disease, but it also greatly affects the family members as well. As I have said before, during the early stages of Alzheimer's a person's functions are almost completely normal; however, the only symptoms that can be seen are a small case of memory loss and forgetting the location of key, eyeglasses, or other small personal items. These symptoms do not cause problems within the families and