Perception and hallucinations
Some people with dementia may encounter problems with their sight. Learn about some of the difficulties this can cause, and ways support can be provided.
- You are here: Perception and hallucinations
- Causes of visuoperceptual difficulties
- Visuoperceptual difficulties in people with dementia
- Supporting someone with visuoperceptual difficulties
- Hallucinations in people with dementia
- Treatment for hallucinations
- Sight, perception and hallucinations â other resources
Sight, perception and hallucinations in dementia
Vision and perception
Hallucinations are sometimes experienced by people living with dementia.
Understanding sight and perception problems and giving appropriate help, support and reassurance can help ensure feelings of safety. This is especially important at a time when the way they perceive the world around them may be changing.
What causes these problems?
The complicated process of seeing involves many different stages.
Information comes through our eyes to the brain. Here, it is interpreted in relation to our expectations (of what will be seen), other senses, thoughts and memories. We then become aware of what has been seen, or what is âperceivedâ.
Visuoperceptual difficulties
Problems that involve both vision and perception can be referred to as âvisuoperceptual difficultiesâ.
As there are many different stages involved in the seeing process, various different types and combinations of mistakes can occur. Common mistakes include:
Misperceptions
When a person sees one thing as something else, this is known as misperceptions. For example, mistaking a coat hanging up for a person, or a blue-coloured floor as water
Misidentifications
Damage to specific parts of the brain can lead to problems identifying specific objects and people. For example, mistaking a son for a husband or brother.
Understanding mistakes
It is easy to see how these mistakes may lead to the person with dementia saying or doing things that do not make sense to others.
However, what they are experiencing is not a problem with thinking. In other words, it is not based on incorrect reasoning or âdelusional thinkingâ. Instead, it is the result of damage to the visual system.