June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, a time to educate yourself and show support for the millions of people worldwide struggling with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. It’s also a time to recognize caregivers for the unwavering support they provide to those suffering with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
What are the symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is a general term for the loss of memory functions or other mental abilities that affect your daily life. Early symptoms of dementia include…
Memory loss: May begin to appear more forgetful than normal. Forgetting important dates or events.
Difficulty planning and solving problems: Difficulty developing and following a plan of action, for example, maintaining monthly bills.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks: Inability to drive safely or remember commonly traveled routes. Also, routine day-to-day tasks requiring critical thought may take longer.
Difficulty determining time or place: Forgetful about where they are, how they got there, or why they’re there.
Vision loss: Having difficulty reading or problems judging distance and determining contrast or color when driving.
Difficulty finding the right words: Initiating or joining in on conversations may appear difficult and repetitive conversations can occur.
Misplacing items often: Putting items in unusual places and difficulty retracing steps to find any lost items or thinking that others are stealing from them
Difficulty making decisions: Poor financial judgment, for example, donating large amounts of money to telemarketers. Rapid decline in bathing frequency and a lack of willingness to change clothing daily.
Withdrawing from work and social events: becoming increasingly withdrawn from common social events, work projects, or hobbies that were previously important.
Experiencing personality and mood changes: Extreme swings in mood and personality may occur. May include confusion, depression, anxiety and fearfulness.
What to do
Effective communication techniques can help limit some of the frustration felt by the caregiver and the person with dementia. It is incredibly important to remember that individuals struggling with dementia are not in control of their behaviors; the disease dictates the behavior. In addition, every behavior is an attempt to communicate; once you decipher the need behind the behavior, you will be in a better position to meet that need.