10 Early Signs of Alzheimer’sor other parts of Dementia

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life

forgetting dates of eventsneed to rely on an memory aids (ex. electronic devices)asking the same questions repeatedly

Age related: Sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but

remembering them later.

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems

can’t concentratecan't follow numbersforget monthly billstrouble following familiar recipes

Age related: Making occasional

errors when balancing a checkbook.

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at

work, or at leisureproblems completing daily taskscan’t drive to familiar placescan't manage a budgetremembering rules of a game

Age related: Occasionally needing help to use the

settings on a microwave or to record a television show.

4. Confusion with time or place

lose track of time, seasons, or datesforget where they aredo not know how they got somewhere

Age related: Getting confused about the day of the week but figuring it out later.

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial

relationshipsvision problemsdifficulty reading or judging distancecan't differentiate between colors or contrast

Age related: Vision changes related to

cataracts.

6. New problems with words in speaking or

writingtrouble following or joining a conversationstop in the middle of a conversationno idea how to continue a conversationmay repeat the same point struggle to find vocabulary

Age related: Sometimes having trouble finding the

right word.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to

retrace stepsmay place assets in unusual places or lose assetsunable to go back over their stepsmay blame others of stealing

Age related: Misplacing things from

time to time and retracing steps to find

them.

8. Decreased or poor judgement

pay less attention to themselves and not properly groom themselvespoor judgement or decision-making

Age related: Making a bad decision once

in a while.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities

may remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, work projects or sportsmay forget how to complete a hobby or their favorites sports teamavoid social settings due to personal changes recently

Age related: Sometimes feeling

weary of work, family and social obligations.

10. Changes in mood or personality

become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxiousupset at work, home, and/or places out of their comfort zone

Age related: Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when

a routine is disrupted.

If you feel like you or someone you love associates

with the symptoms then consult a doctor.