Page 37 - Changes and Challenges

Dementia
Changes and Challenges
tasks. Most of these things I would have done on the fly, without a lot of
planning, but now are near overwhelming. As such, why bother?

Simply put, the realization of my increasing limitations decreases my desire to
test them.

This does not mean I will not find the motivation, just that it is harder and
takes longer.

Balance.
In a well-lit and uncluttered environment, balance is not a problem. It is easy
to move around unhindered. When the environment is familiar and the
lighting is poor, a couple of touch points can restore any disorientation and
balance issues.
The real challenge comes with changes in elevation and turning. Bending
down to retrieve a cup from a cupboard stresses my balance, as does abrupt
changes in direction when walking. Likewise, standing after a period of sitting,
can be disorienting, especially in low light.

Climbing a ladder is almost impossible. The impact of a couple of rungs on a
ladder on my Cochlea (see Figure 5) should be minimal. The issue probably lies
with my Cerebellum (see Table 5). Sensory inputs are not being possessed or
interpreted normally or quickly enough, giving rise to conflicting sensory
interpretations of the world. The duck is paddling frantically, just to stop
falling!

Noisy Environments, Sensory Overload and Confusion.
In quiet familiar environments most of my sensory challenges are minimal and
require very little adjusting too. This goes well beyond just being at home,
there are many other locations, less frequented at are familiar (or familiar
enough to be non-threatening). Problems can occur anywhere and can be
escalated by noise, too much sensory stimulation and conflicting messaging.

Noise is not just limited to confusing audio stimulation (see Hyperacousis
page 29 ), but also includes;

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