THE MUM of Britain’s youngest dementia sufferer has told of her heartache as she watched her ‘chatty’ son deteriorate before her eyes.
Andre Yarham, 22, was given the shock diagnosis that he had a form of early-onset dementia after his family noticed he was moving and speaking very slowly.
SWNSAndre Yarham, now 22, at his 21st birthday[/caption]
SWNSAndre Yarham – pictured age 8 – was recently diagnosed with early-onset dementia[/caption]
Mum Sam Fairbairn, 47, said his answers to questions by family members were becoming three word answers and he had a blank look on his face when spoken to.
Sometimes, he would ignore someone speaking to him completely, as if he hadn’t heard them talk.
Sam was then told by a consultant last October after an MRI scan that her son had the brain of a 70-year-old and that he had early-onset dementia.
Andre now relies on his mum to be his round-the-clock carer, helping to bathe him, make his food and drink and pick out his clothes.
Sam said the family don’t think Andre understands his condition as despite discussing everything with him, he remains blank.
The young man, from Norwich, Norfolk, is among just 0.1 per cent of the UK population to receive a form of dementia diagnosis under the age of 65.
Mum Sam said it was a “devastating blow” to learn that her son had dementia and said it had been really tough for the family.
Sam said: “I chose Andre’s clothes, I help him bath as he can’t remember what to do in the shower and make his food and drink.
“He’d usually go to the shop in the morning to buy himself a Monster but now if he went, he’d forget why he was in there.
“We’re not even sure if he understands what’s happening – it’s so difficult to say how he feels now.”
Sam has now had to give up her job as a driver for Sanders Coaches to become Andre’s full time carer.
She said: “When people talk about early-onset dementia, people automatically think of someone as young as 40, but it can affect anyone at any age.
“We’ve discussed with him everything that’s going on – especially with the hospital appointments.
“Whether he can understand and process it, we don’t really know. He gives us nothing at all.
“To be told that your 22-year-old son is suffering from dementia was a devastating blow.”
Andre, an avid fan of wrestling, grew up as a normal lad, playing rugby and football when he was in school.
As he grew older, he began playing Xbox games like Fifa and Call of Duty with his mates.
He also had a job at Lotus Cars, a manufacturer of luxury cars in Norwich, replacing car headliners – the material in the ceiling of the vehicles.
He left after just six months, with mum Sam explaining that he was struggling to get through the day but couldn’t tell them what was wrong.
Around the same time, in November 2022, Sam said the first change she noticed in Andre was his speech.
The consultant said it was like looking at the brain of a 70-year-old
Sam Fairbairn
She explained: “He was always chatty even as a kid and I was always telling him to ‘shut up’.
“But it got to the point where you’d ask him a question and you’d just get a three or four word answer.
“He’d move ever so slowly and when you’d ask him to do something, and you’d just get a blank expression then he’d walk off as if you hadn’t asked him a question.
“Now I think he could probably turn his Xbox on but after that he just wouldn’t have a clue what to do next.
“As I had worked previously with adults with learning disabilities, I noticed traits of autism and decided to get him tested.
“He scored highly on the autism test but the waiting list was five to seven years so a family member paid for us to go private.
“While this was all happening, I just knew something still wasn’t quite right.
“He was saying less and less, and moving more slowly as if he was trying to process what had been asked of him.”
Andre was sent for an MRI by the neurology Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in October 2023 and scans revealed another diagnosis as well as autism.
What is young-onset dementia?
YOUNG or early-onset dementia usually describes symptoms of the brain-robbing disease that strike before the age of 65.
The likelihood of developing dementia increases significantly with age, with over 900,000 Brits living with the condition.
When a person develops dementia before the age of 65, this is known as ‘young-onset dementia’.
Over 70,800 people in the UK have young-onset dementia, according to Alzheimer’s Society.
According to the charity:
A wider range of diseases cause young-onset dementia
A younger person is much more likely to have a rarer form of dementia
Younger people with dementia are less likely to have memory loss as one of their first symptoms
Young-onset dementia is more likely to cause problems with movement, walking, co-ordination or balance
Young-onset dementia is more likely to be inherited – this affects up to 10 per cent of younger people with dementia
Many younger people with dementia don’t have any other serious or long-term health conditions
According to Dementia UK, disease affecting the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are more common in younger people, so it is more likely that the early symptoms may include changes in:
Personality
Behaviour
Language
Social functioning
Relationships with others
Activities of everyday living
Motivation
Mood, such as depression, anxiety
Concentration levels
Decision making and problem solving
Vision and spatial awareness
Andre had atrophy of the frontal lobe – where part of the brain shrinks – usually occurring in much older people.
Atrophy of the frontal lobe can cause dementia – or in Andre’s case, early onset dementia and can cause problems with behaviour and language.
Sam said: “The consultant said it was like looking at the brain of a 70-year-old.”
Andre had a lumbar puncture and was referred to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, where they are now completing genome testing to find the cause of his dementia.
His family hope the genome tests can shed light on the cause and the exact type of dementia Andre suffers from – but his follow-up isn’t for another six months.
Sam said the news had been “very tough” on the family, which consists of her other son Tyler, 21 and husband Alastair, 60.
They have now pinned their future hopes on any trials they can take part in – and have also created a bucket list for Andre to complete.
Andre now enjoys going out for drives with his mum in their Volkswagen Polo and watching wrestling or Peaky Blinders.
His mum cares for him 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Sam added: “Even if there’s no cure – which there isn’t for dementia – any trials we can take part in, would help.
“Although they might not work for Andre, any research from them might help someone else in the future and we’ll take that.
“There’s a very, very slim chance of Andre getting better but doctors have told us to expect a shortened life expectancy.
“What that life expectancy is, they didn’t say so we want to make the most of it.”
Andre’s bucket list has raised over £1,500 of its £2k target and will hopefully include trips to Shrek’s Adventure in London and the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
SWNSThe normally chatty Andre began speaking very little and moving very slowly[/caption]
SWNSDoctors said Andre had the brain of a 70-year-old at the age of just 22[/caption]