Cognitive Impairment

This is part of an article from an MS Blogger, Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D. from http://ms.about.com/ 
Over the past couple years I have found this to be one of the most informative, supportive and comforting websites. 
With my return to work I have become more aware of my cognitive dysfunction.  This is something I dont like to think about.  As the physical disability part of MS scares me and I think of the wheelchair and physical limitations my Mom lives with, the cognitive impairment she increasingly experiences scares me just as much if not more.
My Mom isnt the Mom I used to have.  The MS has taken that away from her and her family.  I dont want to lose who I am and I fear that is slipping away.
There are times my husband gets frustrated at me for telling him something Ive already told him.  My kids love correcting me when I mix up my words or the word escapes me and those moments are increasing.
Reading Julie's blog on cognitive issues with MS reminds me that as scared as I am, again I am not alone.I can identify with much of these common impairments she writes about:


•Problems with Abstract Conceptualization: Put simply, this is difficulty with figuring things out in the “abstract” in a way that is going to lead to a desired outcome. It means that people get easily overwhelmed if something is too complex, as it is hard to organize thoughts and tasks, to apply lessons learned from multiple past experiences, and to be “flexible” enough in their thinking to come up with alternate solutions if a problem arises. This can negatively impact judgment.

•Short-Term Memory Deficits: The most common form of cognitive dysfunction in MS, this usually manifests in things like forgetting whose number you just dialed, going to the pantry and not knowing what you went there for (even though you just looked at your recipe), or being unable to remember if you took your pills or not. You may also find yourself repeating a sentence or part of a story to someone that you just told it to, not aware that you had already said it.

•Attention Difficulties: This can manifest as “distractability” or simply inability to keep your mind on a task. You may find that you are unable to multitask or that even minor ambient noise, like the television or music, can make it virtually impossible to concentrate on things like reading or performing sequential tasks, like those involved in cooking.

•Slower Speed of Information Processing: This includes all the aforementioned symptoms, and it means that the brain simply cannot take in and prioritize all of the information coming at a person at once. This includes problems processing language (spoken or written), sensory information (visual, sounds, smells, touch), spatial information (like that involved in navigating while driving), or more abstract things like social cues and reading people’s emotions.