Agnosia

Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of

the truth lies and Alzheimer's show. I'm Lisa Skinner, your

host, and as we've talked about before, dementia affects many

aspects of cognition, from memory and language to behavior

and daily function. One lesser known but significant symptom is

called agnosia, and this is the inability to recognize objects,

people, sounds or smells, despite having those normal

sensory functions intact for families and caregivers,

understanding the connection between agnosia and dementia is

really essential. Agnosia not only disrupts daily life, but

also influences perception safety and relationships. So

today we're exploring what agnosia is, how it appears in

dementia, and strategies to support those who are living

with it. So what is agnosia? This might be a brand new term

that you've never heard of before. You may recognize it

once I start talking about it, but you may not have heard that

term. So agnosia is a neurological disorder where the

brain cannot correctly interpret sensory input, and importantly,

it is not due to loss of sight. It's not due to loss of hearing

or touch. The senses are still intact. Instead, the brain

struggles to make sense of the information it's receiving.

There are different types of agnosia. There's visual agnosia,

which is difficulty recognizing familiar objects or faces even

though a person's vision is normal. There's auditory

agnosia, which is the inability to recognize common sounds like

a ringing phone or a dog barking. There's tactile

agnosia, which is the inability to recognize objects by touch,

despite that sensation still being intact. And there's

prosopagnosia, hope I'm saying that right also called face

blindness, most of us have heard of that, which is difficulty

recognizing familiar faces, including our loved ones, and a

nosoco nausea, which is the lack of awareness of one's own

condition often present in dementia. So these types can

appear separately or together, depending on the underlying

cause dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, causes

damage to our brain regions responsible for memory, language

and perception. The occipital and temporal lobes are often

involved in visual and auditory processing when these regions

are impaired. Patients may see or hear but fail to correctly

interpret the information visual. Agnosia is common in

Alzheimer's disease, where a patient may look at a toothbrush

but not recognize its purpose any longer. Prosopagnosia appear

in some types of dementia, and you'll see this when the person

cannot recognize their family members, and of course, that

will lead to distress and confusion and anoso Nausea is

frequent in dementia, and you could recognize that because the

person will inevitably deny that they have memory loss or insist

that they don't need any help, the statistic on that is about

50% of People are not aware that they have a cognitive decline,

and 50% of people are aware of it, so it definitely is going to

have an impact on daily life. Agnosia complicates, already

challenging dementia symptoms because of the inability. To

recognize food, which may reduce eating, failure to recognize

danger like a hot stove, which can obviously cause safety

risks. Misrecognition of a loved one may cause anxiety for both

the person living with it, and for their family members and

caregivers. So signs of agnosia in dementia patients include

frequently misidentifying familiar people or objects

appearing confused in familiar environments, difficulty

following simple instructions when objects are involved,

trouble recognizing sounds or failing to respond

appropriately. Neurologists and neuropsychologists diagnose

agnosia through a couple different means cognitive

assessments, including memory language and recognition tasks,

brain imaging, MRIs and CT scans to identify damage and they rule

out for vision or hearing impairment, because agnosia is

often mistaken for memory loss alone. Proper evaluation is

important. Supporting someone with agnosia requires patience,

adaptation and practical strategies, which stands to

reason. I'm going to give you some communication tips. Use

clear verbal cues instead of pointing name the object

directly. That's a door. That's the door to the bathroom. Pair

visual with verbal input. So what that means is holding up an

object while describing its use. Try to avoid frustration.

Sometimes, that's not always easy, but if the person cannot

recognize something, gently redirect them for the time

being. Create a supportive environment by labeling objects

and rooms with large, simple text, use consistent

organization. For example, their keys are always in the same

place, their phone is always in the same place. And it's helpful

to reduce clutter, to minimize their confusion. Misrecognition

can be extremely distressing. If a loved one with dementia does

not recognize you, it's not personal. Staying calm and

offering reassurance helps reduce anxiety for both parties,

I've had so many people over the decades tell me that it's so

hurtful to them when a parent or a loved one doesn't recognize

them, and it is hard to Separate emotion from the

logic that it is the disease. But if you can try to remind

yourself of that when it happens, it won't hurt quite as

much. Agnosia perception and mental health. Well, agnosia

highlights how deeply dementia affects our perception. When

familiar people and places are no longer recognized, people may

feel disconnected or even fearful, and this can lead to

anxiety about daily routines, depression due to loss of

independence, frustration with communication barriers,

caregivers can also face emotional strain, understanding

that agnosia is a symptom, not a choice, can Help reduce tension

and promote empathy. There's no cure for agnosia, but supportive

strategies improve quality of life. Therapists can help people

strengthen recognition skills, adapt daily tasks and build

coping strategies, reminder apps for labeling photos of family

members are available now. Smart home devices that provide verbal

cues are now available and adaptive clothing and tools that

simplify routines. Are now available to help us through our

dementia journey, and very important, educating caregivers

about agnosia reduces stress and improves communication. So

training could include role playing exercises, communication

strategies and Environmental Design for caregivers,

understanding agnosia is key to compassionate, effective

Dementia Care, while the condition cannot be reversed.

Patience, structure and supportive tools make daily life

more manageable for both people living with it and for families

and caregivers now for caregivers managing agnosia and

dementia, here are some examples of helpful tools that you can

use on a daily basis. Photo albums are great with large

labels, and they are available on Amazon, talking clocks and

reminder devices, flashcards for memory, stimulation, adaptive

household labels and signage kits are available, and these

tools not only support recognition, but also promote

safety and reduce caregiver burden. Agnosia and dementia are

closely connected, reflecting how brain changes affect

perception as well as memory. Agnosia occurs when the brain

cannot interpret sensory input despite their senses still being

intact. In dementia, it often appears as visual agnosia,

prosopagnosia or anoso nausea. It impacts daily life safety,

relationships and mental health. Some supportive strategies

include form clear communication to adaptive tools, and this can

definitely improve somebody's quality of life, and that's what

I have for you today on the truth lies and Alzheimer's show.

I'm Lisa Skinner, your host, I will be back next week with

another new episode for everybody, and in the meantime,

two things, check out our brand new website. It's still called

mining dementia.com but it's been completely redone, so go

check that out. And if you're inclined to you can sign up for

our free weekly newsletter, which every week contains a tip,

an update information that may actually end up being very

valuable for you in your daily journey through dementia. So

stay safe, everybody. Try to be happy, and I will look forward

to having you all back next week on the truth lies and

Alzheimer's show. Take good care for now.