Episode 3 - Tangles in the Brain: Intricacies of Learning and Memory Disorders Podcast

The podcast episode discusses memory and learning disorders. It explains that dementia is a term used for different brain disorders that affect memory, thinking, behavior, and emotion. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. The symptoms of Alzheimer's and dementia include memory loss, poor judgment, wandering, and seizures. The development of memory disorders is not solely genetic, but having a family member with Alzheimer's increases the risk. To prevent memory disorders, it is recommended to have a healthy lifestyle and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, medication can slow the progression. The podcast also discusses learning disorders such as dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia. These disorders have genetic factors and can be managed through therapy and medication. An interview with Dr. Samantha Tibbetts, who grew up with ADHD, provides insights into the challenges and treatment methods. The podcast c Welcome to the number one podcast in the world, Blow Your Mind, in episode 3, Tangled in the Brain, Intricacies of Learning and Memory Disorders. We will examine how memory and learning disorders affect people's lives. We also have a guest speaker who will introduce Layla in the podcast. So audience, I have a question. Have you ever misplaced your keys or been told you have a bad or terrible memory? Actually, Nathan, I have been told I have a really bad memory. In fact, I've even been told I have dementia sometimes, which is actually really funny now that we actually know what dementia means. Defined by the Alzheimer's Disease International, dementia is a term used to describe different brain disorders that affect memory, thinking, behavior, and emotion. Dementia is often referred to as the umbrella or overall term for anything described as a memory disorder. Under dementia, there falls a few different types of memory disorders, such as vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontal temporal dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and the most common, Alzheimer's. Since Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, that's what we're going to be focusing on in the memory section of this podcast. Now that we've gone over and spoken about the different types of dementias, we're going to now go ahead and talk about some of the symptoms that are shown in Alzheimer's and dementia. Okay, so the symptoms for Alzheimer's are forgetting their time, poor judgment, wandering or getting lost, ranges all the way up to seizures, difficulty swallowing on poor blood or cholesterol, and there can also be more symptoms that we have not said. Now the symptoms for dementia, difficulty understanding people, their personality, and mood, and the mood change, and just like Alzheimer's, there could be more symptoms. The next topic is development of memory disorders. The majority of dementia and Alzheimer's is not hereditary and is not passed down through generations. If you have a family member that has Alzheimer's, you have an increased risk of developing it. However, some people have family history and have never developed it, so there's no direct link between genetics and development. Now that we've spoken briefly about the development of memory disorders, we're now going to go ahead and talk about what you can do to prevent developing it early in life. And if you are diagnosed, know someone that's diagnosed with it, we're going to talk about treatment plans that are available for the disorders. So some of the ways you can prevent Alzheimer's, eat a well-balanced and healthy diet, exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, continue being social and having friendships, protect your head, always wear a helmet when you can, reduce your alcohol consumption significantly, avoid smoking throughout your life, do things that avoid raising your blood pressure. And now the treatments available for Alzheimer's, there is a medication that slows degenerative disease and makes you live longer, hold on to your memories for longer, but currently there is no cure. Medication is being tested to slow the progression. Unfortunately, the morality rate is quite high for dementia because there is no cure. Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death among all diseases in the U.S. And there is 10 million new cases of dementia each year. Now that we've spoken about memory disorders, we're going to move on to the second half of our podcast, which talks about different learning disorders and how we can treat them. The five most common learning disorders are dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia. Dyslexia affects a person's reading and language processing skills. ADHD affects a person's ability to pay attention, control their impulses, and control their hyperactivity. Dyscalculia affects a person's ability to do math. It makes it difficult for a person to understand math concepts, perform arithmetic calculations, and solve math problems. Dysgraphia affects how a person writes. It makes spelling, handwriting, and putting their thoughts on paper really difficult. Dyspraxia is another disorder that affects a person's ability to plan and coordinate movement. It affects motor skills, such as your ability to tie shoelaces, and gross motor skills, such as balance coordination. So now moving on to development of learning disorders, ADHD, under other learning disorders, are primarily genetic. Research suggests that certain toxins in our lives can also develop it. Infants and children are more at risk as they are still developing. Dyslexia is shown to be genetic and to run in families through generations. Now dyscalculia is also shown to be passed down genetically. Now we're going to be talking about treatment for learning disorders. Surface dyslexia and dysgraphia cannot be removed. Instead, a patient can be trained and taught ways to live with the condition through therapy. ADHD can be treated with behavior therapy or medication. They teach patient skills to make living with the diagnosis easier. Next up is the interview portion of our podcast. We're very excited to introduce our interviewee, Dr. Samantha Tibbetts. She grew up living with ADHD in Jamaica and struggled in the school system as there wasn't much knowledge and support back then. She continued on to college and received her highest level of education, a doctorate. She now is the director of a private school named Hope Academy in the Cayman Islands that was created to help those needing extra assistance with learning. So, Dr. Tibbetts, how did growing up with ADHD affect your childhood? Growing up with ADHD, living on a tiny island of Jamaica back in the 70s was quite challenging when it came to the area of having ADHD and overcoming some of the challenges that it came with, which mainly was in school. I went to a very prominent Catholic school that was run by nuns and they had no understanding whatsoever about children who learned differently or needed extra support. Okay. So, what were the main struggles that you can remember? I think the main struggles were around the area of time management, anything that had to do with working memory, executive function, because it was very challenging in the way we're adhering to deadlines or timelines. But as previously said, because growing up young with ADHD, definitely I was not impacted by the thought of getting in trouble or any type of future challenges because I lived in the now. I only lived in the moment and there was no, I didn't think about consequences of what turning in a late assignment would mean. What treatment method was available back then and what did you use? I wasn't actually diagnosed until I was in high school and that's when I started making ADHD meds. Back then it was Ritalin, now it's Adderall. But when I was younger, the method that worked well for me was just having very structured activities done by my parents. Would you say that growing up with ADHD influenced you into choosing the career path that you did? I think it definitely did. Knowing that I learned differently and I pretty much figured out how I learned best, I definitely wanted to make sure that other children could benefit from my own positive or negative experiences. Okay, so what is your background into the field? I have a bachelor's degree in education, both in elementary and early childhood, and then I have a master's in educational leadership and human resource management, and then I have a doctorate in education, specializing in special education. How has treatment evolved for ADHD and learning disorders in general? Not only has treatment evolved for both ADHD and other learning disorders or disabilities, but so has the diagnosis has evolved. So there's more medication available, different types of medication to work with different people's body chemistry, but there's also many intervention programs now available. Has ADHD helped you in any way, or was it ever a positive thing? I think it's definitely helped me in being able to dream big, because I've always believed that anything is possible. And maybe it's with ADHD, you're not thinking of any future consequences. It makes it definitely allows you to take more risks. Do you have any advice for teens on young adults living with ADHD? Anyone living with ADHD or any type of other type of learning disability can have its challenges. But what I would say is to always stay positive and dream big and never, never use it as an excuse. Know that you only just have to work a little bit harder and a little bit smarter. To conclude, remember to stay overall healthy and to protect your head to avoid risk of concussion to reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer's. If you think you or know anyone that is showing a number of signs of learning disorders, it's important to reach out to a psychologist near you for more information. We want to thank our audience for joining in on today's podcast. And a special thanks to our interviewee, the lovely Dr. Samantha Tibbitts. Stay tuned for the next episode of the Blow Your Mind podcast. We hope to see you soon. Bye!