EP 19 - Parkinson’s disease: cognitive challenges and the practical “detours” people use to navigate them in daily life

🎙️ We’re back with the nineteenth episode of Parkinson Weekly, hosted by Prof. Bas Bloem.In this episode, Bas shines a light on an often overlooked aspect of Parkinson’s disease: cognitive challenges and the practical “detours” people use to navigate them in daily life. He pays tribute to the late Marina Noordegraaf — artist, advocate, and person with Parkinson’s — whose pioneering work helped make these invisible thinking obstacles visible.Building on her earlier work around motor “detours” for freezing of gait, Bas explores Marina’s beautifully illustrated book Detours through the Parkinsonian Brain, which focuses on strategies to compensate for cognitive difficulties such as slowed thinking, attention problems, planning challenges, memory lapses, and executive dysfunction. Drawing on interviews with more than 450 people with Parkinson’s and over 130 care partners, the project captures real-world solutions developed by patients themselves.Bas discusses the concept of functional cognition — how cognitive skills translate into everyday performance — and why challenges often emerge not in clinic-based tests but in complex, stressful, real-life situations. He highlights the practical tools outlined in the book, including environmental adjustments, behavioural strategies, and simple communication techniques to help patients and families manage thinking obstacles more effectively.This episode offers a thoughtful and highly practical perspective for clinicians, patients, and caregivers alike, emphasising that while cognitive symptoms may not always be visible, they are common, impactful, and often manageable with the right strategies.Have a question you’d like Bas to answer in a future episode? Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.