Dementia In Children – 10 Causes And 12 Symptoms

Does your child forget common or crucial things often? Does she exhibit uncontrolled mood swings? Does she seem unable to control her emotions at times? If you nodded along solemnly, then you need to read our post. Your little dear might be suffering from dementia. What is child dementia, how do you identify it, and how do you treat it? Read our post and get the answers here.

What Is Dementia For Kids?

Dementia is a psychological condition, which occurs due to injury, damage or changes in a child’s brain. The most common cause is a brain injury. Your child may appear healthy and normal, but her brain may not function properly. Children with dementia face difficulty remembering common things, have trouble speaking and sometimes cannot recognize the immediate family as well.

Causes Of Dementia In Children:

Children suffer from dementia due to many health reasons and disorders. Here we mention some prominent causes of dementia in children:

1. Infections.

2. Heavy metal poisoning, such as lead.

3. A brain injury or brain tumor.

4. Underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism).

5. Encephalitis

6. Neuronal Ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL).

7. Niemann-Pick disease.

8. Lafora body disease.

9. Batten disease.

10. Various other neurological and brain disorders (1).

[ Read: Tourette’s Disorder In Children ]

Symptoms Of Dementia In Children:

Symptoms of dementia vary from child to child, depending on the cause and type of dementia. Here is a list of common symptoms of dementia in children.

1. Memory loss.

2. Improper intellectual functioning.

3. Inability to exercise emotional control.

4. Frequent forgetfulness.

5. Behavioral problems, such as delusions, hallucinations, and agitation.

6. Confusion about time, place, and people.

7. She cries a lot.

8. Unreasonable fear, anger, and nervousness.

9. Confusion with words and information.

10. Repeating same words or story and asking same queries several times.

11. Inability to learn new things.

12. Negligence in personal safety and hygiene (2).

[ Read: Short Term Memory Loss Symptoms In Children ]

Treating Dementia In Children:

You can help children with dementia feel better with the help of certain effective treatments, which typically include:

1. Provide tonics and vitamins to cure the deficiency of vitamin B_12.

2. Perform surgery to get rid of a brain tumor.

3. Ensure adequate amount of thyroid hormones to cure hypothyroidism.

4. Follow appropriate medications to cure an infection, such as encephalitis.

5. Offer your child medications to cure depression.

6. Curb or change medications that cause memory loss or confusion in kids (3).

[ Read: Epilepsy In Children ]

Apart from medications, you can follow simple techniques every day to make your child feel secure, more active. Remember to keep a track of what happens every day. See if you can find triggers for your child’s dementia.

1. Structure every day of your child to help her perform possible activities in order.

2. Teach your child new hobbies, tricks to solve crossword puzzles, and games.

3. Help your child with visual clues, such as labels on drawers, cupboards, and other things.

4. Encourage your child to learn and perform various activities at his pace. Be patient.

5. Use memory aids, such as photo albums, to make it easier for her to remember.

6. Avoid confrontation and arguments.

[ Read: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder In Kids ]

Preventing Dementia In Children:

Prevent dementia in children by taking some extra precautions, which include:

1. Don’t let your child have a head injury, take your child to a doctor immediately in case she has a head injury.

2. Keep your child socially involved. Attend church, community activities, and other programs regularly (4).

3. Gift your child new books, games, and other things that will engage her (5).

4. Maintain happy and healthy atmosphere at home.

Did your child suffer from dementia anytime? What did you do to treat it? Tell us about it. Share your experiences with other moms here.

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