Words and phrases to know

Experiencing Cognitive Challenges (ECC) is a phrase to express the point of view of the person and their friends and family. Referring to someone as ECC can be more palatable than using labels like dementia or Alzheimer's.

The Journey. Health professionals and educational materials often use the terms 'the Alzheimer's journey' or 'the dementia journey'. There is a growing conviction among people experiencing the journey with cognitive challenges (ECC) and their families. They omit any potentially harmful labels and their speech includes terms such as 'their journey', 'her journey', 'his journey' out of respect.

Neurocognitive disorder (NCD) (formerly dementia) is a category now in use in medical circles that covers Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular cognitive impairment (sometimes mixed with Alzheimer's disease) and more than 80 other conditions. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSMV) erased the use of the term dementia and replaced it with major and minor neurocognitive disorders. To diagnose a major or minor NCD, your doctor will assess if there is steady decline in:

• memory and learning (e.g., recall and retaining new information)

• executive functioning (e.g., decision making, planning and judgement)

• complex attention (e.g., focus and processing speed)

• perceptual/motor function (e.g., brain-body connections such as eye-hand coordination and depth perception)

• social cognition (e.g., recognizing emotions and social behaviours)

Your doctor, nurse practitioner or other medical professional will 

• rule out other explanations, for example delirium,

• administer tests to identify biomarkers such as MRI and blood and urine tests,

• administer cognitive tests to identify cognitive skills,

• assess lifestyle, family history, increasing memory loss and decline in learning ability, and

• use reliable testimony about ability losses by someone who knows the client well.