Oakes, how do Hispanic families tend to respond to Alzheimers disease?
They think it is a normal part of aging. They say, ‘Well, abuelito cannot drive, it is not a problem. He is getting old, we will drive for him.’ Then they say, ‘Well, abuelito, he is getting lost in his house. He is getting old.’ They compensate. Only when he starts screaming at night, do they say he is crazy. They believe dementia is a word for crazy. Dementia is a type of locura, a craziness. The person went crazy. The stigma is around the disease, and culturally it is not like saying you have a kidney problem or a heart attack. They only come in when the family member develops behavioral problems. Q: What are other barriers to seeking help? A: Forty percent of Latino elders born outside the U.S. don’t speak English. There is a trust issue. When you hear the doctor speaking English and not Spanish, it is a hard situation. And remember that people with early Alzheimer’s may be able to fake competence so well that family members often don’t know they have cognitive problems. In additio
