Attitudes,myths, and realities: Helping family and professional caregivers cope with sexuality in the Alzheimer's patient

Alzheimer's is an afliction of more than the individual. Even as the individual's incapacitation grows, associated caregivers, usually the spouse, also experience tremendous lifestyle changes. Intimacy is a frequent casualty amidst feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, depression, grief and loss. This paper examines how knowledge about the course of the disease enhances tolerance and empathy, mediating some of the situation's negatives with regard to the changing physical and psychological relationship. It more specifically looks at discrepencies between the acceptability of sexual behaviors in homes versus in residential facilities.