Thank you to the Parkinson's Association of Santa Barbara!

Thank you to the Parkinson's Association of Santa Barbara for Having Me Present Last Week on How Parkinson's Affects Cognition

It was a pleasure to provide a zoom lecture for the Santa Barbara Parkinson’s Association last week. The Parkinson’s Association of Santa Barbara (PASB) was founded in 1978 and was the first Parkinson’s group in California. They provide information monthly meetings on topics related to Parkinson’s and also offer symposia for medical providers, making them a wonderful resource for the Santa Barbara community.

I spoke for about an hour on the topic of Parkinson’s disease. However, although we usually focus on the movement difficulties associated with Parkinson’s, in this talk the focus was on the thinking difficulties that can accompany this illness, including what about Parkinson’s causes problems with memory and concentration, but more importantly what steps we can take to protect our brains as we age.

INTERESTED IN WATCHING THE TALK?

It is available for free on our online classes site, insightneuropsych.teachable.com. The site will require you to register, but the class is free. While you are there, feel free to check out the other classes we offer on the aging brain and caregiving.

The video class is broken up into 5 digestible video chunks, including:

• Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: Causes and Prevalence

• Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: How It Presents

• Dementia in Parkinson’s Disease

• How to Age Well

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Know the Risk Factors of Dementia?

It can be difficult to know when something is wrong. There are normal changes associated with aging, and many other issues can masquerade as dementia. For this reason, I created a book on how to understand the aging brain, recognize signs of dementia, and how to understand the treatment, work effectively with doctors, and remain an effective caregiver. My book is now in its second edition, and I have added a workbook to help families.

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Does My Mom Have Dementia?: How to Recognize and Deal with Dementia in Your Loved Ones Buy on Amazon

A Roadmap for Dementia: A Workbook for Families by the Author of Does My Mom Have Dementia? Buy on Amazon

Everyone deserves to understand their brain, how it ages, and is it healthy. Our books provide a roadmap to help you determine if you should be concerned and how you can help yourself and your loved ones. This includes learning about the types of dementia, conditions that can be mistaken for dementia, how to interact with doctors, and what treatments and care is out here.

Our new workbook helps to provide worksheets and tools to support you and your loved one with that the stresses that can arise with dementia, be it due to Alzheimer’s disease, vascular disease or Lewy body disease.

In particular, “A Roadmap for Dementia“ provides tools to help:

• Create a memory book to support your loved one and assist caregivers

•  Develop a strategy to understand behaviors seen in dementia

•  Learn to cope with agitation and psychosis

•  and for communicating effectively with your loved ones with dementia

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Perhaps you are more of a watcher than a reader

We have also created a series of online video classes focused on understanding the brain and dementia, caregiving strategies, how to keep our brains strong, and even a video course on how to make the holidays a little easier for your loved one with dementia.

CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO CHECK OUT OUR COURSES

Want to talk about these issues in person? Please feel free to reach out to us.

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Interested in booking a talk or training for your group?

click below

Thank you to the California Association of PA/PG/PCs!

Thank you to the California State Assoc of Public Administrators, Public Guardians and Public Conservators for having me speak at your convention this week!

I really had the opportunity to learn a lot about the work of the Public Guardian’s office and how best to support them over these last few days here in Palm Springs. I also had the opportunity to hear experts in their field discuss topics such as suicide prevention and crisis intervention, as presented by Sergeant Kevin Briggs, known as the guardian of the Golden Gate for his work preventing suicides while in the California Highway Patrol, and Dr. LaVonna Lewis from USC, who helped us explore awareness of our own bias and its effects on our interactions with others.

My presentations at the conference included

Excessive Persuasion: From Undue Influence to Scam Victimization

and

Interviewing the Cognitively Impaired

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Know the Risk Factors That Make Older Adults Susceptible to Financial Abuse?

It can be difficult to know when something is wrong. Much financial abuse occurs in secret. In many cases the bad actors themselves train their victims not to tell anyone about what is going on. There are signs that you can watch for and things you can do to protect your loved ones though. The issues related to older adults falling victim to scams or undue influence are so significant that when I created the second edition of my book, I added a whole chapter on the topic.

Have You Heard of Undue Influence?

Another type of financial exploitation to mention is somewhat harder to detect. It is the concept of undue influence, which people with dementia can be particularly vulnerable to due to their cognitive impairment. Undue influence is often used to manipulate an older adult into changing estate plans or giving large gifts to the influencer, even when it is not in the older adult’s best interest. Whereas scams use advertising techniques, undue influence uses the development of a strong relationship. Essentially the bad actor develops a special and trusted relationship with the older adult. This is sometimes seen with caregivers, where a caregiver who was hired to care for an older adult with dementia develops a strong bond with the person and then purposely starts to manipulate the older adult with dementia. Often the issue does not become obvious until some financial cost has occurred, or family or friends begin to recognize the influence that the bad actor has developed.

  Besides cognitive impairment, risk factors for undue influence include dependence and isolation. The victim may become dependent on the bad actor for things like food, transportation, and even financial management. Isolation contributes as the victim feels that they have no one else to turn to and so instead they focus on the bad actor. The bad actor will themselves usually encourage isolation and dependency.

Resources to Report Scams and Fraud

 National Elder Fraud Hotline

Provides case managers for support and resources

1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311)

www.justice.gov/stopelderfraud

Federal Trade Commission

Helps government identify victims and track these crimes

www.FTC.gov

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center

Helps government identify victims and track these crimes

www.IC3.gov

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Does My Mom Have Dementia?: How to Recognize and Deal with Dementia in Your Loved Ones Buy on Amazon

A Roadmap for Dementia: A Workbook for Families by the Author of Does My Mom Have Dementia? Buy on Amazon

Everyone deserves to understand their brain, how it ages, and is it healthy. Our books provide a roadmap to help you determine if you should be concerned and how you can help yourself and your loved ones. This includes learning about the types of dementia, conditions that can be mistaken for dementia, how to interact with doctors, and what treatments and care is out here.

Our new workbook helps to provide worksheets and tools to support you and your loved one with that the stresses that can arise with dementia, be it due to Alzheimer’s disease, vascular disease or Lewy body disease.

In particular, “A Roadmap for Dementia“ provides tools to help:

• Create a memory book to support your loved one and assist caregivers

•  Develop a strategy to understand behaviors seen in dementia

•  Learn to cope with agitation and psychosis

•  and for communicating effectively with your loved ones with dementia

---

Perhaps you are more of a watcher than a reader

We have also created a series of online video classes focused on understanding the brain and dementia, caregiving strategies, how to keep our brains strong, and even a video course on how to make the holidays a little easier for your loved one with dementia.

CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO CHECK OUT OUR COURSES

Want to talk about these issues in person? Please feel free to reach out to us.

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Interested in booking a talk or training for your group?

click below

Listen to Dr. Stifel discuss coping with COVID for parents and families on The Deciders radio show

The Deciders radio show on 790KABC with Renee Fraser focuses on changing our communities by interviewing CEOs, people who are working to build their businesses, and/or people who are change agents working to create positive social change in their communities.

In this interview, Dr. Stifel discusses how you and your kids can cope with COVID, including trying to understand the situation and normalize our experiences. Some topics discussed include screen time issues right now and how to discuss coronavirus with your kids.

Need more help?

Interested in learning more, or want an assessment or advocacy services for your child?

For more information about how to best support your child’s schoolwork at home, please contact me, Dr. Skye Stifel, at Insight Neuropsychology.  As a former special education teacher, a Nationally and California Certified School Psychologist, and Licensed Educational Psychologist. I have the knowledge and experience to help you with your child.  

At Insight Neuropsychology we provide personalized assessment and treatment services to promote cognitive health and well-being. We help you learn about how your child’s brain is functioning and how their environment is affecting them, as INSIGHT is the first step in improving your mental functions.

Want to Learn More Now?

We have online courses available for people across the age range, including a course on mindfulness and the developing brain.

Click below to see our courses!

COVID-19 Scams and Seniors

Scams are an unfortunate part of our reality. From IRS scams to romance scams, there are more ways than ever for unsavory characters to steal your hard earned money.

This fact is even more sobering when it comes to seniors. Even in seniors that are aging normally without any dementia condition, their aging brains put them at much higher risk of being scammed. It is estimated that seniors lose close to $3 billion each year to scams. One of the most important ways this risk can be lessened is by keeping seniors, their loved ones, and care professionals up to date on the most prevalent scams. In 2020, we find ourselves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seniors are one of the populations considered at-risk of serious consequences from contracting the virus. This increased fear and the general lifestyle changes caused by COVID-19 have led to new ways for scammers to take advantage of older adults.

In this post, we will share the top 5 current scams that are targeting seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide some advice for staying safe from these new and devastating scams.

Contact Tracing Scams

What’s The Scam?

Contact tracing is the process of identifying people who have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The purpose is to warn these people that they should quarantine themselves and continuously monitor their symptoms. Contact tracing is understood to play an essential role in stopping the spread of COVID-19. A real contact tracer is someone hired by the state department of public health. They work with an infected individual to get names and contact information for people that the infected individual came into close contact with while infectious. This information is kept in an online system, and the contact tracer never asks the individuals that they contact for personal information such as bank or Social Security information.

Currently, scammers are sending text messages pretending to be contact tracers. Most of these texts will include a link that you are asked to click. A key difference between fraudulent and legitimate contact tracing texts is that real contact tracing only texts to inform you that they will be calling. They will never ask you to click on a link.

Clicking the false links in these text messages can download software onto your device, giving scammers access to your personal information. They may also follow up and directly ask for bank account numbers, social security number, or other important personal information.

Why it Works

By using official language, scammers rely on a sense of authority to convince victims to trust them. Since contact tracing is a real and legitimate strategy being employed by state governments, seniors may have heard the term before, which further creates a false sense of comfort.

What You Can Do

Never provide bank information or other personal information, such as your social security number, to someone through text message. Your phone or wireless provider may also have options to filter or block unknown senders or spam. When in doubt, ask them to call you or share the text with a trusted loved one to get their opinion. There are very few circumstances where clicking a link through an unsolicited text message.

Stimulus Check Scams

What’s the Scam?

By now, most Americans have received a stimulus payment from the government in response the the economic hardship caused by the coronavirus outbreak. If you have not yet received your check, you can use the IRS tool to determine your eligibility and when you may get paid. Although the first round of stimulus payments have mostly been distributed, it is possible that the American public may see additional financial aid coming through in the following weeks or months. Therefore, scammers still have an opportunity to prey upon seniors hoping for some financial relief.

Scammers have been posing as IRS or other government entities to convince individuals that they need personal information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers, or government benefit card information. Typically, they will inform the contacted individual that their stimulus check is ready, but additional information is necessary to process the transaction. They might also claim that a fee must be paid in order to get the money, which is a common lie in financial scams.

Why it Works

Many seniors are living in a time of financial uncertainty. If they owe money due to a mortgage or other bills and their livelihood has been effected by the coronavirus, they may be counting on the stimulus money to get by. Using visceral rewards such as money is one way that scammers bypass critical thinking and cause seniors to act on impulse.

What You Can Do

Remember that the IRS will never contact you via text message, email, or social media with information about your stimulus check. There are no fees associated with the stimulus benefit and anyone asking you to pay a fee or return a portion of the deposited money is a scammer. Using the IRS tool is the best way to track your check and anyone contacting you directly regarding the check through one of the methods mentioned above should be blocked.

Testing Kit Scams

What’s the Scam?

With all of the uncertainty about who might be a COVID-19 carrier and the fact that people can carry the infection without actively showing symptoms, it would be very nice if there was a convenient way to test yourself for the infection at home. Unfortunately, there are no home-based tests at this time. This hasn’t stopped scammers from offering them, however.

Currently, scammers are contacting individuals by phone, email, or text message to offer COVID-19 testing kits. It has also been reported that some of these scammers are attempting to sell fake at-home testing kits door to door. The primary purpose of this scam is simply to get individuals to send the scammers money. However, there is another variant of this scam in which the scammer will post as a government official stating that the individual is required to take a COVID-19 test. In these cases, the scammer will often ask for your health insurance information, such as Medicare or Social Security numbers. They will then use this information to bill insurance for services that were not actually rendered and keep the reimbursement.

Why it Works

Seniors are especially at risk of this scam and similar scams due to personal and emotional factors. Rather than focusing on the economic anxiety of the situation, scammers are preying upon senior’s desire to prove that they are healthy so that they may have contact with loved ones such as grandchildren. Seniors are also aware that they are an at-risk population when it comes to severe consequences from COVID-19 infection, so their physical health is likely a constant concern during this period of time.

What You Can Do

The most important thing someone can do to avoid falling prey to scams related to tests and other health-related products is to stay informed about the current status of COVID-19 testing and treatment by using official sources such as the CDC. Currently there are no at-home test kits that have been approved for public use. Anyone offering to sell you a test-kit is most likely attempting to scam you.

Charity Scams

What’s the Scam?

During this period of collective hardship, many legitimate charities have popped up. Examples of real charities that you may come across include charities providing personal protective equipment to healthcare workers and those sending money directly to individuals financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, during times of increased aid, scammers often ramp up their efforts to swindle honest people out of their money.

Fake charity scammers may contact you in a variety of ways including pre-recorded robocalls, email, or text message. These scammers will either make up their own official sounding charity name or use the name of a real existing charity to earn your trust. They might ask for for direct donations or personal information such as bank account info.

Why it Works

By using the names of real charities and sometimes going as far as to create official looking websites or letterhead, charity scammers create the illusion of authority, which can make seniors overlook warning signs that the charity may not be legitimate. The fact that there are also many new charities related to coronavirus that have been created also means that it can be hard to keep track of which are real.

What You Can Do

It is very rare that a real charity will ever send you a confusing robocall. If you get a robocall, you can just ignore it. If you receive another form of communication from a charity, take the time to do some research before deciding to send them your money. Use an online search engine to search the charity name. You can also use watchdog groups such as Charity Watch or Charity Navigator to look up their information.

Typically, real charities will request money but will not be mean or pushy with you. If you are pushed to make an immediate decision about donating money, this could be a warning sign. You can always ask them to call back another time, which would give you time to research the legitimacy of the organization.

Lastly, watch out for the payment method that the charity is asking for. A legitimate charity will never ask you to purchase some form of gift card or ask for information to make a wire transfer.

Fake Cure Scams

What’s the Scam?

The coronavirus is scary, deadly, and inconvenient. Of course people are yearning for a cure or some effective means to prevent the virus from infecting themselves and their loved ones. This has lead to a huge influx of fake and unproven treatments for the coronavirus. These are sometimes marketed through email or regular post. They have also become extremely prevalent on social media sites such as Facebook. Advertisements might tout essential oils, teas, colloidal silver, or intravenous vitamin C as cures or proven ways to prevent the virus. Add to this the rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories that have been circulating regarding COVID-19 and it’s no wonder that these scams are so effective.

Why it Works

As with the testing kits, seniors are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 cure scams due to their status as an at-risk population. With their physical health at risk, they are very motivated to find something that can protect themselves from the threat. Visceral motivators such as physical health can tap into the more primitive parts of the aging brain to cause seniors to make decisions based on fear rather than logic.

What You Can Do

There are currently NO proven treatments or preventative measures for COVID-19. Current treatments are aimed at managing symptoms and helping someone ride out the infection. Further, many of the unproven cures that are advertised online may actually cause harm, especially in seniors. If you have a question about a treatment or supplement that you see, call your doctor before purchasing. Also keep in mind that if there were a miracle cure or prevention method for this virus, the numbers would be much lower than they are now.

Conclusion

Scams are nothing new. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers are finding new opportunities to prey upon our fears and uncertainties to take away our money and other resources. Seniors are especially vulnerable, whether or not they have memory problems or other age-related issues.

To learn more about why aging causes people to become more easily scammed, check out our brand new online course, Scams and the Aging Brain.

In this three-lesson course, licensed neuropsychologist, Erik Lande, Ph.D., covers how scams work, why normal aging increases scam risk, how to help someone who has been scammed, and how to prevent seniors from being scammed in the first place.

Want to talk about these issues in person? Please feel free to reach out to us.

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Interested in booking a talk or training for your group?

click below

Scams Against the Elderly Are HUGE: Luckily Authorities Just Stopped One Large Romance Scam

Dr. Lande and FBI Victim Specialist Debbie Deem

As part of my practice I consult with and provide training to various law enforcement groups on elder abuse. Last week I provided a training for the FBI. One of the main topics I cover is victimization of seniors by mass market scams.

We have all received such solicitations. A computer phone call stating that we owe the IRS, or an email from a member of the Nigerian government who needs help smuggling money out of the country and knows that you would be the perfect person to assist, or perhaps that too good to true connection on a dating website who just never quite seems available to meet in person.

These scams work by convincing us to use emotional reasoning, rather than logical reasoning. They use visceral motivations like fear and greed, along with a sense of authority, to get us to respond. And they require urgency, so that we don’t have time to think about what we are doing.

Unfortunately, older adults are a prime target due to factors such as greater wealth concentration, loneliness, and some of the cognitive processing changes that occur as we age. Scams are a difficult crime to stop as they are cheap and easy to do, and are often based out of the country, making it hard for law enforcement to intervene.

Luckily, as you can read about in this story, Federal authorities were recently able to stop a large romance scam targeting women around the world, but with at least some of the perpetrators based in the US.

Education and awareness is often one of the best ways to prevent yourself and your loved ones from falling victim. Remember, if anyone is demanding an immediate payment, especially with any type of gift card, it is probably a scam.

Remember, you can contact law enforcement if victimized by these scams and it is important to report them. A good place to report them is the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Sometimes, if you are quick enough it is even possible to get your or your loved one’s money back.

For a free video on the aging brain and scams, click the button below. There is also a button linking to a recent article I wrote on mass market scams.

Want to talk about these issues in person? Please feel free to reach out to us at Insightneuropsych.com.

Don’t Let Your Child Fall Through the Cracks at School

Many parents tell me they feel their child has fallen through the cracks or gotten lost in the shuffle, and they just don’t know what to do.

Here are a few helpful steps to take if this is you, with further descriptions of each below. And if you feel like you just want some professional help now, please feel free to reach out to us at insightneuropsych.com.

1. Be Involved.  You can’t know what you don’t know.

• Ask questions. Email or call your child’s teacher(s) and/or administrator (contact information should be available on all school websites) to see how your child is doing. Do they have concerns about your child’s academic, behavioral, or emotional progress?

• Review work and online grade books. Most schools have online ways for you to monitor your child’s work and grades. Ask for explanations about assignments you don’t know about or understand. Have teachers show you work samples of what your child has submitted as well as an exemplary example of the assignment to compare with. Be in the know of what your child is doing at school.

2. Make it a team effort. If you have concerns about your child’s social, emotional, behavioral, and/or academic progress at school, you can request a Student Success Team (SST) meeting.

Nearly all schools have SST meetings, or a similar process, to meet and discuss concerns about students. Anyone can request an SST meeting.

• The meeting is intended to be a safe place to create a plan of action to support a student’s strengths and needs. This is a perfect forum for all the important stakeholders in your child’s education to come together and problem solve what is going on. This is also the perfect place for you to ask any and all further questions you may have of the team.

• The meeting typically involves your child’s teacher(s), an administrator, the school psychologist, a school counselor, a special education teacher, and/or you and your child.

If you feel like you have been trying this teach approach and just want some professional help now, feel free to reach out. We are always happy to you and help problem-solve your child’s unique situation.

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3. Special Education as a Last Resort.  A SST may discuss the possibility of conducting a special education evaluation to determine if your child meets criteria of a student with a disability and requires special education supports and services to benefit from school. If your child is enrolled in private school, then your local public school would conduct the evaluation (this requires further steps to be taken).

• Although there is a spectrum of special education supports and services, there should also be options in general education to support your child’s needs before going down the path of labeling your child as having disability.

• Ask about ALL the supports available to students at the school. Ultimately your parental consent is required in order for the school to conduct a special education evaluation. You may also choose to request the school conduct an evaluation; the request must be submitted to the school in writing.

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Interested in Learning More, or want an Assessment or Advocacy Services for your Child?

At Insight Neuropsychology we provide personalized assessment and treatment services to promote cognitive health and well-being. We help you learn about how your child’s brain is functioning and how their environment is affecting them, as INSIGHT is the first step in improving your mental functions.

For more information about what questions to ask, what signs to look for, and/or how to navigate the school system to best help your child, please contact me, Dr. Skye Stifel, at Insight Neuropsychology.  As a former special education teacher, a Nationally and California Certified School Psychologist, and licensed Educational Psychologist, I have the knowledge and experience to help you ensure your child does not get lost in the shuffle.

What is Dementia AKA Major Neurocognitive Disorder?

Do you remember when we used to talk about going senile?

Have you noticed it doesn’t pop up much anymore?

There is a reason for this. Many people believe that as we get older our mental faculties – our memory and thinking skills – start to decline. Even the medical field believed this. The medical diagnosis for this was “Senile Dementia,” and it literally meant mental deterioration that comes with aging.

Now though, we know this isn’t really accurate. Although there are some changes in our thinking abilities, usually related to being slower and less efficient, we now know that dementia is not part of healthy aging.

Two things give this away. We have identified many of the conditions that cause dementia, and we have identified people, sometimes called super-agers, who don’t show a significant decline as they age. One of the innovative studies that explored this was the “Nun Study” by Dr. David Snowdon. They examined almost 700 elderly nuns over 15 years, including cognitive testing, gene studies, and even information from early in their lives by studying autobiographical essays they wrote in their 20s. If you would like to learn a little more, check out Dr. Snowdon’s book. You can click on the photo to reach it.

So What is Dementia?

Nowadays, when doctors use the term dementia, it is meant as a description of a person’s functioning. Dementia describes a person’s current level of thinking and functioning. It is not the cause of that level of functioning, it is simply describing it.

It means that a person is showing a significant decline in thinking skills (like memory or language functions) often measured by neuropsychological assessments such as those I conduct (look here to learn more about the testing process), and the deficits are significant enough that they are also causing limitations in a person’s functional skills, their daily life. In a few paragraphs we will talk about causes of dementia, and how these can result in different types of symptoms and challenges.

Besides just the label of dementia, we try often try to give more descriptive labels that describe how significant the impairment is. So a person might have early dementia, where they may show a little tendency to get lost when driving or to have trouble remembering to pay bills. Or perhaps moderate dementia, which tends to marked by disorientation to date or address, or difficulty remembering the names of grandchildren.

I mentioned in the previous paragraph that there are different causes or types of dementia, but they all tend to be similar in the end. We describe severe dementia as loss of the ability to communicate and requiring complex care.

If you are interested in learning more about these labels, look into some of the scales used to classify dementia, like the Global Deterioration Scale or the CDR (Clinical Dementia Rating) check them out here (https://www.dementiacarecentral.com/aboutdementia/facts/stages/).

You might have noticed in the graphic above, there is another term I haven’t yet identified, Mild Cognitive Impairment. This term, like dementia, is a description of functioning, rather than a disease. It indicates that a person has obvious new impairment on cognitive tests, but is not yet showing any decline in daily functioning. It is considered a red flag for possible future dementia, so it identifies patients that physicians should monitor.

Want to talk about these issues in person? Please feel free to reach out to us at Insightneuropsych.com.

One last point on terminology.

Recently the DSM, which is the diagnostic manual for mental health professionals, put out a new edition that has changed the terminology. Now they the use the terms Major Neurocognitive Disorder, which is equivalent to dementia and Mild Neurocognitive Disorder, which is equivalent to Mild Neurocognitive Disorder. While I prefer to use dementia as it is term that is easily recognized and understood, I do think the change to Mild Neurocognitive Disorder helps, as Mild Cognitive Impairment was just too generic and confused people.

Are Alzheimer’s and Dementia The Same Thing?

Auguste Deter, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease

This is a common question we get in our practice. People want to know if they are the same, or if it is better to have one or the other. So let’s clarify this by discussing the causes and types of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is a disease process causing deterioration and death of neurons in the brain. It eventually leads to dementia (though there is some recent evidence that the condition is present long before we realize it…) and is in fact the most common cause of dementia. This tends to be the one that everybody thinks about and is our stereotype of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the dementia associated with loss of memory and language skills. It starts in the temporal lobe of the brain, which happens to be the part of the brain very responsible for memory formation and processing of language.

While Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia, it is only one of many. Many of us remember the Mad Cow scare back in the 1980s. Well, that disease is a type of dementia, just a very rapid form. It kills within 1 year once the condition develops. It is called a spongiform encephalopathy. Here in the United States it was not quite as much of a scare as it was in Europe, but we do have a similar condition that occurs here in Elk. It is called wasting illness. It can spread to humans through hunting. Unfortunately, the elk that is easy to shoot is sometimes the sick one wandering in circles. Cooking the meat does not remove the pathogen that leads to the brain damage and dementia.

Mad Cow disease is a rare form of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is a very common form. Other types of dementia you might hear of include vascular dementia, Parkinson’s dementia, and Lewy body dementia, among others. Vascular dementia is related to damage in the blood vessels in the brain. Due to damage to the blood vessels the brain cannot get enough oxygen or energy in the affected areas. Whereas Parkinson’s dementia is related to impaired neurons that stop producing enough of the neurotransmitter dopamine. It initially causes movement problems, but some people will develop cognitive impairment and dementia. Lewy body dementia is one that we are only recently becoming more aware of. In the past it might have just been seen as an atypical Alzheimer’s dementia. Now though it is seen as almost a mix of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s features. It is marked especially by variability in cognitive skills, with good and bad periods, and also a tendency to have visual hallucinations.

Contemplating dementia can be frightening, but it is important to remember that there are things you can do, both to try and stave it off, but also to help yourself or your loved one if it is present. Feel free to look over the blog archives for ideas on keeping your brain strong, or feel free to reach out to us at Insightneuropsych.com. We are happy to answer questions and we provide comprehensive evaluations to determine if dementia is present and to figure out how to help and support dementia sufferers.

Interested in Learning More?

Need an Assessment?

At Insight Neuropsychology we provide personalized assessment and treatment services to promote cognitive health and well-being. We help you learn about how your brain is functioning, as INSIGHT is the first step in improving your mental functions.

Our neuropsychologists have served Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties since 2003. We have experience working in hospital settings, with universities, and with neurology and other medical specialties.

Can a Neuropsychological Assessment Help?

Something on Your Mind?

It can be easy to feel like something is wrong with your brain, or a loved one’s.

Perhaps you can’t get your life organized, and a friend tells you to investigate ADHD. Or perhaps you worry that a recent time when you just couldn’t think of a word might have been an early sign of dementia. Perhaps a loved one has had a brain injury, but you are not sure how it is has really affected them. You just know they are not the same.

This Is Where Neuropsychology Comes In

Neuropsychology is the study of how our brain relates to our behavior. As neuropsychologists we study a person’s thinking skills and behavior to determine if there is something to these worries. We explore a person’s strengths and weaknesses to help them gain insight about their brain. The goal is to help protect it, strengthen it, and thrive.

How Neuropsychology Works

You may have seen one of phrenology models before. Unfortunately, it’s not this simple.

One of the best ways to learn how your brain is functioning is to see a neuropsychologist. A clinical neuropsychologist is a licensed psychologist who has obtained further training and specialization in brain functioning, allowing us to better understand and treat conditions that involve both the brain and behavior.

We conduct testing to determine an individual’s pattern of strengths and weaknesses in attention and concentration, learning and memory, language skills, and judgment and reasoning and other cognitive skills. The tests are noninvasive and mostly verbal or paper and pencil. A subject might be asked to solve puzzles or remember a story. Neuropsychological testing does not involve needles or cause hurt or discomfort. Depending on your condition we may or may not use computer-based tests.

Once you finish testing, we compare the results to your peers, other people of your age and education. We call this data norms, or normative data, and it lets us see how your performance relates to everybody else. Yes, your brain slows down a bit as you age, but that doesn’t mean you have dementia. We compare you to other people your age for that reason.  This can help us understand how you learn and identify the types of problems that are holding you back. Analysis of your patterns of performance, along with consideration of medical history and life story can help us understand what is occurring, including what your condition is or what might be holding you back.

Then we get to the important part.

Assessment is just one piece of the process, even if it is the part that everyone thinks about when they think of neuropsychological assessment. Once we assess you, we make recommendations to help you. Good recommendations should be thorough and wide-ranging. We might teach you some new ways of learning or remembering information, or we might suggest breathing techniques that can help overcome test-taking anxiety. We will make recommendations about further education and support for you and family members, and we will discuss how you can adapt your environment to be more efficient and successful. One hint, if you make a place where you always leave your keys or purse, like a bowl on your dresser, you are going to be a lot less likely to lose them. Think an assessment might help you or someone you know, feel free to contact us at insightneuropsych.com today and learn how we can help!

How

Neuropsychology

Helps

1.       Neuropsychological assessment is the best way to measure how your brain’s functioning affects YOU. Although MRIs and other brain scans are important, none examine a person’s actual thinking abilities.

2.       Neuropsychological assessment determines what abilities are truly impaired, by using standardized tests to compare your actual performance to your peers. It is also the most systematic method for monitoring a person’s condition over time to determine if treatment changes are needed.

3.       Neuropsychological assessment assists diagnosis, by identifying patters of performance that are characteristic of certain conditions. It also detects subtle impairments that can cause later problems as people return to their regular activities. This can help target problems that still need to be worked on.

4.       Neuropsychological assessment provides treatment recommendations that are tailored to you to help you be more successful. The goal is to help you improve weaknesses or better compensate for them.

When Should Neuropsychological Assessment Be Sought?

• If you struggle with concentration or memory or it has held you back at times, an assessment may help to clarify the issues and suggest how you can address them.

• If you notice a change in mental functions (such as memory, reasoning, or attention) in yourself or someone else that is affecting the person’s ability functional skills (like forgetting to pay bills or how to use a cell phone), it is time to seek an evaluation to clarify and confirm the difficulties.

• It is especially important in the first few months following a brain illness or injury, as treatment is most effective when it occurs soon after the change in functioning.

Interested in Learning More, or Want an Assessment?

At Insight Neuropsychology we provide personalized assessment and treatment services to promote cognitive health and well-being. We help you learn about how your brain is functioning, as INSIGHT is the first step in improving your mental functions.

Our psychologists have served Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties since 2003. We have experience working in hospital settings, with school settings from elementary to university, and with neurology and other medical specialties.

Dr. Lande's article on chronic scam victimization in the elderly has published!

Here is the link to the article. I co-authored it with Debbie Deem, FBI Victim Advocate Specialist. This addition of the Journal focuses on Elder Justice issues, and so we discuss chronic scam victimization of the elderly, including contributing factors and ways to address it with government and local community resources. 

It is in the US Attorney Bulletin, AKA Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice

Transnational Scam Predators and Older Adult Victims: Contributing Characteristics of Chronic Victims and Developing an Effective Response - by Debbie Deem and Erik Lande

https://www.justice.gov/usao/page/file/1121446/download
It is page 181 of the pdf (which is actually page 177 of the journal itself)