Reflection of Dementia: Allie Calhoun

Allie Calhoun, from the movie The Notebook, started experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in 2006. Some symptoms she had was asking questions over and over again or losing her keys. some of Allie's main roles were mother and wife. When she found out her diagnosis, she wrote down the love story between he and her husband that can be read to her as her memory begins to fade. Allie was referred to OT because she needed assistance with her routine and needed help to increase meaningful activities. The main focus for OT would be to help decrease confusion and panic, provide education and assistance for her husband and to help her create a daily routine to have a good quality of life. Since every patient with Alzheimer's experiences different symptoms and progresses differently, it's important to always remember to be client-centered - what may work for one client may not work with another. I always loved this movie but didn't really realize that Allie had Alzheimer's and that she could potential benefit from OT.