Early Signs of Dementia
What should you look out for?
Dementia is the “umbrella” term for a group of illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that cause the brain to fail. The symptom that is common to most forms of dementia is memory loss, in particular short term memory loss. Short term memory changes are often quite understated. You may notice that the person with dementia is able to remember events that took place years ago but not so well things that happened recently.
Other signs of changes in short term memory are forgetting where things have been put, not being able to remember why they have entered a particular room or forgetting what they are supposed to be doing on any given day. Repetitive behaviour also becomes more common due to memory loss. However, memory loss is not the only symptom of dementia that influences the person’s ability to carry out daily tasks. In this article, we will be discussing other symptoms that make carrying out normal tasks of daily living so challenging.
Difficulty in Reasoning.
(Organising, planning, or explaining)
This involves making decisions, planning and problem solving. It may mean that a person in the early stages of dementia begins to have difficulty developing and following a plan of action such as planning a menu or preparing for a holiday. Working with numbers may also become difficult.
Disorientation
Often people with a diagnosis of dementia come up against difficulty determining time, place, or person.
Disorientation with time may include losing track of dates and no longer being able to judge the passage of time. As the disease process continues, the person with dementia may well have “peeled back the decades” so that their reality can be several years prior to now. Planning for future events may also become difficult as well.
Disorientation to place occurs as the person with dementia becomes increasingly forgetful about where they are, how they got there and why they are there. Things may be put in unusual places and the person may have no ability to retrace their steps to find lost items. This may also include forgetting once familiar landmarks or regularly used directions.
Disorientation to person can become a problem as people can be misidentified. It is common, for example, for adult children to be misidentified as a spouse due to familial resemblance.
Language Difficulties
The language centre of the brain is one that is often compromised over the course of the dementia journey, so it’s reasonable to expect that struggling to communicate thoughts and feelings feature as one of the more common symptoms. You may notice that initiating, or even participating in conversations become more difficult. Conversations may also randomly be paused mid-sentence. Word finding becomes more difficult or words may be used in the wrong context or place in the sentence. All of these difficulties can lead to repetitive conversations and frustration. It is important to remember that having a conversation with a person who has dementia may well take longer than usual, because it takes longer for them to process what has been communicated.
Personality or Behaviour Changes
It is not always easy for the person with dementia to recognise changes in themselves. Extreme swings in mood may occur, but there may also be a noticeable turnaround in mood generally. Confusion, depression anxiety and fearfulness are common in the early stages of dementia. Along with mood changes there can be a shift in personality. People who have been shy or quiet all their lives may become more outgoing. This is because the condition often affects the judgement / social filter part of the brain. Some people may become more withdrawn and others who have been easy going may become more irritable - especially when things occur outside of their normal routine.
Co- ordination problems
This may include such things as dropping things more often, not being able to do very familiar things such as use cutlery, hold a pen. They may have difficulty taking off or putting on a jacket, getting in and out of a car, or being able to multitask.
Reduced Motivation
Reduced motivation is a common problem and one that causes a lot of frustration. The person with dementia may lose interest in hobbies and activities. They may not want to go out anywhere, do anything fun, or spend time with friends and family. They may appear emotionally flat.
Poor Concentration
A person with dementia may find it difficult to perform or complete routine daily tasks. To read a book or magazine or follow a movie or programme on TV. They may also struggle to learn new tasks or follow new schedules.
Difficulty with Spatial Awareness
As spatial awareness diminishes, we lose the ability to perceive and relate to the space around us, this is very noticeable as a person with dementia may have difficulty judging the different flooring spaces or patterns on the floor might become confusing or off putting. Dimensions and distances become difficult to judge and knocking into things becomes a more common occurrence. Poor spatial awareness is one reason why people with dementia may lose their driver’s license, or why simple tasks such as sitting down on a chair, or on the toilet, become far more difficult.
Impaired Judgement
Financial choices may demonstrate poor judgement e.g., giving money away to strangers or getting involved with scams. Also, things like having the ability to think through risk taking situations and what the consequences of actions might look like can also be problematic for a person in the early stages of dementia.
Walking in their shoes, the early stages of dementia can be a very difficult time, often inducing fear. People might find themselves on the position of not being able to remember or recognise people, and unable to follow conversations or directions. They may no longer remember why they went shopping or recognise their way home. They may no longer have the get up and go to even go shopping. All this because of physiological changes in a person’s brain as they commence their journey. Being confronted with these changes in their reality can be very frightening and can create a time of grief as they, (and their loved ones) adjust to these new losses. People in the early stages of dementia need our kindness and understanding as they grapple with the issues and walk towards living well with a diagnosis of dementia.
At Dementia Canterbury we aim to help people who either have dementia, or who care for someone who has a diagnosis of dementia, to live as well as possible, for as long as possible. Obtaining an early diagnosis goes a long way to ensure this can happen. I encourage you to seek help from your doctor to talk over any concerns as soon as possible, should you need to navigate this path.
In North Canterbury, Dementia Canterbury services include activity, cognitive stimulation and support groups; home visits; navigation and support; dementia education.
Dementia Canterbury is a not-for-profit charity that relies heavily on donations and support from the community to deliver services. If you would like more information about dementia, need support, or are interested in becoming a supporter please contact us on 03 3792590 email admin@dementiacanterbury.org.nz
