Dementia is a condition that causes a senior’s memory and thinking skills to decrease. Dementia damages brain cells in older adults, and family caregivers may notice their senior loved ones experiencing behavioral changes, among other warning signs. It’s important for aging adults to get treatment to alleviate some of the symptoms associated with dementia. Here are a few signs of dementia family caregivers should look for.
- Difficulty Finding the Right Words
When seniors have difficulty communicating their thoughts, this could be a warning sign. Older adults with dementia may have difficulty explaining things or finding the right words to express themselves. It may be challenging to communicate with your loved one, and it could take longer to fully understand what he or she is trying to say.
1. Mood Changes
If your loved one begins to experience mood changes, such as having unexplained feelings of sadness, anger, and happiness within a short time, this may be a sign of dementia. Your loved one may also withdraw from social interaction. If this happens, take your loved one to the doctor immediately. Although there’s no simple test to determine if your loved one has dementia, the doctor can look at all the symptoms and rule out other conditions or illnesses.
A trained professional caregiver can be a fantastic resource when it comes to helping your loved one handle agitation, confusion, frustration, and other symptoms of dementia. Caring for a senior with dementia can be challenging for family caregivers. Luckily, there is dementia care Anchorage families can rely on. Professional dementia caregivers help seniors with dementia stay safe and comfortable at home by preventing wandering, providing cognitive stimulation, and assisting with household chores.
2. Diminished Sense of Direction
Seniors with dementia may fail to understand where they’re going, even in areas that should be familiar. They may also begin to forget well-known landmarks or start asking for directions to places they visit regularly. Disturbed spatial orientation and a failed sense of direction are typical symptoms of dementia. Seniors with dementia often have difficulty following directions they’re given, including step-by-step directions.
4. Repetition
This symptom generally occurs in seniors with dementia due to the behavioral changes they experience. When you notice your loved one repeating actions over and over, he or she could be in the early stages of dementia. For example, your loved one may wash the same load of laundry multiple times, constantly wipe down the kitchen table, or collect items obsessively.
Caring for senior loved ones can be challenging for families who don’t have expertise or professional training in home care, but this challenge doesn’t have to be faced alone. Family caregivers can turn to Home Care Assistance for the help they need. We provide high-quality live-in and respite care as well as comprehensive Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s care.
5. Confusion
Confusion is a symptom family caregivers often notice in the beginning stages of their loved ones’ dementia. Seniors with dementia often become confused when using their memory, making judgment calls, trying to remember faces, and interacting with others.
6. Short-Term Memory Issues
Seniors who are unable to remember what movie they watched the night before but can recall an event from childhood are experiencing changes in short-term memory, and dementia could be the cause. These changes are often subtle during the early stages of dementia. Other examples of short-term memory changes include forgetting where an item was placed and difficulty remembering what was planned for the day.
Dementia is a serious issue that affects a senior’s health, wellbeing, and ability to perform everyday activities. If your senior loved one has been diagnosed with a serious condition and needs help with tasks like meal prep, transportation, bathing, and grooming, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of in-home care Anchorage, AK, families can trust. We also offer comprehensive care for seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Schedule a free in-home consultation by giving us a call today at (907) 770-0907.