Younger-onset Alzheimer's disease: learning from the experience of one spouse carer

There are estimated to be 17,000 younger sufferers of dementia currently living in the UK. At present, individualized service and practice initiatives for younger sufferers and their carers remain fragmented and poorly developed. This is despite potential additional caregiving stressors caused by the age of onset, such as financial difficulties due to disruption in the work pattern, children still living at home, and the sufferer's decreased life expectancy. Drawing on an individual carer's personal case history, this article details a spouse carer's individual experience of her husband's decline through the stages of younger-onset Alzheimer's disease. Pointers for policy and practice for younger sufferers and their carers are drawn from this case history and a role for the community psychiatric nurse is outlined.