Telling Others That You or a Loved One has Alzheimer’s Disease

There are two scenes in the movie “Still Alice” when Alice or her husband is suddenly confronted with questions about her behavior. The first happened after she went out running, lost track of time, and he could not contact her to remind her of their planned dinner with friends. By the time she returned home, they were already late.  The second scene was with her own department chair about the student evaluations she received for the previous semester.  With none of the evaluations at her previous levels, Alice was faced with suddenly admitting she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  Once she did, everything was clear to her department chair. With the news out, and with her own realization her teaching abilities were no longer meeting her personal standard, her career took a dramatic turn. She ceased teaching and turned her courses over to colleagues in the department. Her long career, the one she so loved, was finished. She was 50 years old.

The scenes depict some of the many choices one has to make when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. For the one diagnosed, when is the right time to reveal the diagnosis to friends, neighbors, and colleagues? When is the right time for family members to reveal a loved one’s diagnosis?

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