“Those with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they are all individuals and they are all unique. And they just need to be interacted with on a human level”
– Carey Mulligan
“Oh, I forgot that” – is a very common statement all of us use in our daily life. Similarly, “do you have dementia?” is a common question that we encounter often. Can all memory problems be considered as dementia? The answer is a big NO!
Dementia occurs as a consequence to changes in brain due to ageing, It mostly occurs as a primary symptom of neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Individuals with dementia have usually complain about memory issues which is sometimes associated with changes in behaviour, personality and movement. Moreover, to be diagnosed as a person with dementia the individual must meet any of the following criteria:
- Gradual onset
- Not caused by disorders like schizophrenia, depression or mental retardation
- Occur during the later stages of life (acquired, not congenital)
- Symptoms should be persistent and worsen over time
- Affects several areas of mental function
- Interfere with work, social activities and relationship with others
The signs and symptoms of dementia vary between early to late stages. Identifying the condition at a very early stage can help the individual from rapid progress to the later stages which make them completely dependent. Hence it is very important to know how to identify the early signs of dementia and differentiate it from common memory issues.
Many of the early signs of dementia are exaggerated forms of the minor day to day lapses of normal adults. It includes:
| Signs | When it is normal | When associated with dementia |
| Memory failure | · Forget an appointment · Forget a neighbours name | · May not remember making an appointment · May not recognise a neighbour as a neighbour |
| Disorientation | · Occasionally forget what day of the week it is · Get lost in unfamiliar places | · Routinely may not know what day it is · May get lost in familiar places like neighbourhood or even at their own home |
| Difficulty performing activities of daily living | · Forget to provide essentials for the guest | · Forget that they have guest at home |
| Difficulty performing mentally challenging activities | · May find difficult to balance a check book · Feel challenging to double a recipe | · Unable to perform simple calculations · Find difficult to keep the steps in a recipe in order |
| Misplacing things | · Misplace objects that are in regular use like purse and key | · Put regularly used items in odd places like key in a refrigerator |
| Change of mood | · Experience change of mood due to life events | · Exhibits change of mood that is rapid and with no appropriate reason |
Knowing and understanding these early warning can be very helpful in identifying Dementia at an early stage. It is important to look for these symptoms in elder members of the family and if found, seek help of a rehabilitation professional at the earliest. Your timely action can help them in achieving a better quality of life rather than being prone to a chaotic life.
Amritha ML
Speech Language Pathologist
