Special-needs caregivers learn how to spot, treat dementia

“Carol Erzen knows how difficult it is to diagnose and care for someone with dementia. Her mother was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, and, for her family, it took time to figure out what was happening.’With both Alzheimer’s and dementia, it’s not like there is a blood test or a thermometer test that you can do to tell you, ‘Oh, this is clearly what’s happening,’’ said Erzen, staff development executive for Merakey Allegheny Valley School in Pittsburgh, which provides homes and services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ‘It’s a series of things that have to be looked at,’ she said, ‘and a lot of it is very subtle.'”
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