Symptoms of Dementia
While many think of dementia as advanced forgetfulness, it’s much more than that. To be diagnosed with dementia, someone must have difficulty with a minimum of two cognitive areas:
- Visual perception such as trouble differentiating colors, hallucinations, or difficulty seeing movement
- Concentration and focus
- Judgment and reasoning
- Memory
- Speech and communication
Depending on the stage of dementia, the disease is marked by a range of cognitive symptoms. Common early symptoms include increasing confusion, struggling with memory, behavioral or personality changes, inability to perform daily tasks, poor concentration, and withdrawal or depression. By mid-stage, someone with dementia will have trouble sleeping, display inappropriate behavior, wander and get lost, have difficulty remembering personal information, and may display increased irritability and aggression. Toward the end stages, someone with dementia may be unable to speak, walk, or eat. Most tasks in late-stage dementia require assistance, including bathing, toileting, and eating.
