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Memory Loss
- One of the most common early signs of dementia is forgetting recently learned
information. The ability to concentrate, learn new things and process new
information is progressively lost. While it's normal to forget appointments,
names or telephone numbers, those with dementia will forget such things more
often and not remember them later. People frequently deny experiencing these
symptoms as they struggle to preserve their self-esteem and identity.
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Problems Doing Familiar Tasks
- People with dementia often find it hard to complete familiar everyday tasks.
A person with Alzheimer's may not know the steps for preparing a familiar meal
or using a household appliance. Routine activities of daily living go through a
process of "unlearning".
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Problems with Language
- A person with Alzheimer's often forgets simple words, making his or her
speech or writing hard to understand.
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Difficulty Knowing the Time, Date or Place
- It's not unusual to forget the day of the week or where you're going. People
with Alzheimer's disease, though, can become lost in their own neighborhood,
forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.
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Poor or Decreased Judgment
- People with Alzheimer's disease may show a lack of insight and a growing
inability to discriminate, understand and follow directions. Driving is
progressively impaired; the person may go through stop signs or wind up going
the wrong way on a one-way street. People with dementia often show poor judgment
about money, also. They may give away large amounts of money to telemarketers or
pay for home repair or products they don't need.
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Problems with Abstract Thinking
- Balancing the checkbook may be hard when the task is more complicated than
usual. Someone with Alzheimer's disease could forget completely what the numbers
are and what needs to be done with them.
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Misplacing Things
- A person with Alzheimer's disease may put things in unusual places: an iron
in the freezer, a wristwatch in the sugar bowl or a sandwich under the sofa.
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Changes in Mood or Behavior
- Depression frequently accompanies the early stages of Alzheimer's. There may
be listlessness, apathy, suspiciousness, paranoia, social withdrawal and
episodes of crying. Someone with Alzheimer's disease can show rapid mood swings
- from calm to tears to anger - for no apparent reason.
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Changes in Personality
- People's personalities ordinarily change somewhat with age. But a person with
Alzheimer's disease can change a lot, becoming extremely confused, suspicious,
fearful or dependent on a family member.
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Loss of Initiative
- It is normal to tire of housework, business activities or social obligations
at times. The person with Alzheimer's disease may become very passive, sitting
in front of the television for hours, sleeping more than usual or not wanting to
do usual activities.
