NOTE: The preferred medical term is Major or Minor NCD (Neurocognitive Disorder) instead of dementia or Alzheimer's. Dementia has been used as the umbrella term for 40 types of NCD, but the DSM 5 (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) used by doctors to make diagnoses will use the updated language so we should make the effort to change. One reason NCD is preferred is because the word "dementia" and "demented" in Latin mean "insane" and therefore carries a negative stigma. People with the diagnosis and their loved ones and other interested people such as our "Ambassadors" are working very hard to rid the world of this negative stigma.

NCD involves impairment in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving, and perception. Before a person is diagnosed as "disabled," a doctor must certify that a patient needs assistance with at least two ADL's (Activities of Daily Living) such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence (urinary and bowel control).

Some types of NCD which can be either "Major" or "Minor" are:

• Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of NCD accounting for approximately 70% of cases;
• Lewy body disease, the second most common type, usually accompanied by hallucinations such as seeing animals and people who are not there, sometimes with muscle rigidity similar to Parkinson's ;
• Vascular disease (related to "strokes" and lack of blood flow to the brain and characterized by personality changes...anger, etc.),
•  Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (results in inability to make good decisions, deficiency in problem-solving skills)
• Parkinson's disease with NCD.
• And others. [Note: frequently, a patient will exhibit more than one of these types and will be diagnosed with "mixed" types.]

There is at least one meeting each week of every month in Arlington.
​Click this link for a list   /support-groups.html