Alzheimer’s disease is not just memory loss. It impacts the brain in many ways, causing changes in cognitive abilities, judgment, executive function, language abilities and behavior. Following is a list of warning signs that include the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Some symptoms are also indicative of other dementias, such as Lewy body disease, Parkinson’s dementia, Pick’s disease and fronto-temporal lobe dementia. Please click our pictures for videos and more information.
1. Difficulty With Familiar Tasks
Tasks once easily accomplished might begin to be too daunting for someone in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Good cooks often begin saying that they no longer feel like cooking. Mail begins to pile up because the prospect of sorting it, paying bills and throwing away the junk mail becomes too confusing. Has your loved one suddenly or gradually stopped doing familiar activities?
2. Slipping Job Performance
Going into a room and forgetting why you went, or losing a colleague’s phone number only to remember it later can be a normal part of a business day. People with Alzheimer’s begin to forget items or events much more often, and may not remember them at a later point. Memory lapses, and missed appointments and deadlines negatively impact job performance.
3. Language Difficulties
The ability to find the appropriate word becomes more difficult with the onset of Alzheimer’s. Temporary lapses (such as momentarily forgetting a friend’s name) are a normal part of the aging process. People affected by Alzheimer’s disease might experience language difficulties much more often, forgetting words and then substituting inappropriate words in such a way that their speech becomes incomprehensible.
4. Confusion of Place and Time
People with Alzheimer’s disease can lose their sense of place and time. They might begin to speak of long-ago memories in the present tense or refer to their deceased parents as still living. The affected person might become lost in his or her own home and not recognize a loved one whom the person has known for decades.
5. Lack of Judgement
Alzheimer’s patients can exhibit increasingly poor judgment about activities of daily living.The affected person might observe a loved-one preparing a salad and then attempt to help by shredding newspaper and placing it into a bowl. He or she might put a dress on backwards, walk in the middle of a busy street or go outside dressed for summer on a cold winter day.
6. Problem in Abstract Thinking
An individual with Alzheimer’s may have problems with abstract reasoning, such as doing simple mathematics. While balancing a checkbook or manipulating fractions in a recipe can be a daunting task for any of us, a person with Alzheimer’s disease might also forget how to add and subtract, or even what numbers are used for. Additionally, the affected person might lose so-called executive functions, such as the ability to plan or strategize.
7. Misplacing and Hiding Objects
Who among us hasn’t temporarily misplaced our car keys or checkbook? A person with Alzheimer’s disease might begin losing items more frequently and will have greater difficulty remembering where items are stored. Because of these frequent losses, he or she might also begin hiding objects so that they won’t be “stolen.” A person with Alzheimer’s may put a wallet in the freezer or look for eye glasses in the family aquarium, and appear to think this is perfectly normal behavior.
8. Mood Fluctuations
It is a familiar part of human condition to feel melancholy or moody from time to time. An individual with Alzheimer’s can exhibit extremely rapid emotional outbursts, however. These might start with sudden laughter followed by extreme anger and shouting and end with wracking sobs-all experienced with no apparent rhyme or reason.
9. Changes in Personality
People with Alzheimer’s disease can undergo dramatic changes in personality and disposition. Someone who has been traditionally cheerful and outspoken may turn confused, timid and frightened. As coping skills diminish, the affected person may become suspicious of strangers and family members alike.
10. Lack of Initiative
Alzheimer’s patients can exhibit passivity and lack of energy, even about important things. We all temporarily tire of the daily stresses of work and home. But people with Alzheimer’s may require constant prompting and encouragement to get involved in even the simplest task of daily living. They may need encouragement and guidance to comb their hair in the morning. They may even chew their food but forget to swallow
