FTD care partner Hannah Clarke was interviewed on October 15 for a segment on Good Day Philadelphia about her experiences caring for her mother, Claudine, who is living with an FTD diagnosis.

Hannah was attending college in Cleveland when she and her brother noticed that Claudine was developing a condition that needed to be addressed. An internist in internal medicine and geriatrics, and “a very articulate woman,” their mother began to struggle to find words and have difficulty managing technology she already knew.

“She wasn’t able to hold a conversation with me without really long pauses to try to figure out what to say next,” Hannah said. Claudine was eventually diagnosed with FTD in 2021 at age 56.

The Effects of FTD on Young Family Members

When her mother was diagnosed, Hannah was two months shy of beginning medical school. “It was a critical time in my life and in my family’s life,” she said. “I still continued with school, but when [my mom] was moved into a nursing home, I was like, ‘Ok, it’s time for me to come back.’”

The Clarke family’s story shows the challenges placed on younger family members when a loved one is diagnosed with FTD. Having to decide between pursuing one’s personal career goals and becoming a full-time FTD care partner is a common, yet fraught, scenario. “My brother and I were in our early twenties,” she said. “There was a lot of life [we needed to figure out] individually as well as on behalf of our mother.”

She encourages everyone who knows a young caregiver to consider helping them. “Young caregivers need a lot of support,” she said. “If you know a young caregiver out there, please offer them support — even simple things, like cooking food or doing laundry, because there is just so much to figure out all at once, pretty urgent things, and it’s hard to manage all of that while also trying to grow up.”