Dementia

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 gar...