Although I am not a neurologist, I think a lot about the #variants of #PrimaryProgressiveAphasia. I wrote a #memoir about my father's #early-onset #Alzheimer's with #neurologist, #Dr.BruceMiller of #UCSF's #MemoryAndAgingCenter. It explains where in the #brain the initial assault happens and helps us understand why people can't find the right words and/or garble them and/or repeat them. After many years, I learned that my father had the #logopenic variant.
I wrote a #memoir about my father's early-onset #Alzheimer's with the #logopenic #variant (word-finding) -- called Finding the Right Words -- only to/in order to (?) realize that sometimes, maybe a lot of times, the most important #caregiving is not about words at all. Scout, my chihuahua and I think all #dogs, know this simple and hard thing, which #humans -- at least this human -- struggle to understand and embrace.
It's #AlzheimersAwarenessMonth. When my father was diagnosed in the 80s in his mid-50s, the different kinds of #dementia & #Alzheimers weren't known. When I met #neurologist #BruceMiller, he explained that the real diagnosis was #earlyonset Alzheimer's w/the #logopenic variant (word-finding). The #diagnosis came late (death had already come) but what a relief to have the words & a deeper understanding of what turned my father's life, mine, & my family's inside out.
September is #WorldAlzheimer'sAwarenessMonth. The #science of #brain health is making great strides thanks to #neurologists and other #researchers. Here is a chart, assembled by #UCSF #doctors, explaining the three different #variants of #aphasia that you or a loved one may be experiencing. #MRIs can determine where in the #brain the #damage is happening and correlate it to the type of aphasia. My beloved father, Jerry, who had #early-onset #Alzheimer's, had the #logopenic variant. #EndAlz
