Early Onset Alzheimer’s disease from the Perspective of Psychiatrist and Speech Therapist - Based on the Portrayal of A Patient, Created in the Book “Still Alice” by L. Genova and Its Film Adaptation

Abstract

The article discusses the problems of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease with reference to the portrayal of a 50-year-old woman affected by this form of disease, presented in the book “Still Alice” (by Lisa Genova, 2011) and its film adaptation “Butterfly, Still Alice” (directed by R. Glatzer, W. Westmoreland, 2014). Individual domains of Alzheimer’s disease, i.e. of speech and language disorders (most room having been devoted to them), learning and memory disorders, social cognition, perception and motor function disorders, as well as executive function disorders were presented in the format of successive scenes from the book and the film. We believe that the two sources, the book and the film, help enter the world of Alzheimer’s disease with orientation to the patient’s problems and can be useful in early diagnosis and intervention regarding patients with the disease in question.