A lecture was held in Tokyo by a neuroscientist to talk about her own experience of caring for her mother who had dementia, and she said, "Even if you have dementia, your personality does not change, and if you judge only by words, you may miss the essence of caregiving."
Ms. Ayako Onzo, a neuroscientist and specially appointed researcher at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School, was invited as a guest to the lecture held in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, ahead of World Alzheimer's Day on the 21st of this month, and about 260 people, including family members of people with dementia, gathered at the venue.
Ms. Onzo has been providing nursing care at home until her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia eight years ago, passed away in May.
At the lecture, Dr. Onzo said, "Dementia makes it difficult to put memories into words, but the body remembers the words and experiences that have greatly moved the mind and the emotions are functioning.
On top of that, he said, "Some people say that their personality changes when they have dementia, but when everyone loses confidence, they become aggressive.
A man in his 80s who listened to the lecture said, "I realized that anxiety is the cause of people with dementia's high emotions, and in the future, I will try to practice a way of talking that accepts people with dementia through community activities."
In addition, a woman in her 40s who is a care manager said, "I realized that not only instructions such as getting dressed, but also seemingly useless daily conversations can be an opportunity to reassure the person and his family, and I would like to tell the family in charge of the lecture."