Dementia is a group of symptoms affecting a patient's memory, reasoning and thinking abilities. Though dementia is not a specific disease, it is diagnosed when groups of symptoms are recognized together. It is important to understand that early signs of dementia will not appear on a regular basis and vary from person to person. Alone, the subtle cognitive changes of dementia are not always identifiable; yet, when grouped together, dementia may be more easily marked. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia but over 50 other causes exist, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Short Term Memory Loss
A person may forget where the car keys are placed or suddenly become lost on a familiar route. For example, a woman who has visited the same grocery store for 10 years may become lost on her drive home one day. A person may buy items such as toilet paper or dog food repeatedly, forgetting he has plenty at home. Memory loss is often associated with aging and is not always linked directly to dementia.
Performing Familiar Tasks and Projects
Simple tasks such as following a favorite family recipe or balancing a checkbook become increasingly difficult during the early stages of dementia. Abstract thinking associated with math problems seems complicated to a person with early dementia. A person may be able to complete the given task, but the activities will take much longer to complete. Planning an activity with several steps, such as organizing a birthday party or garage sale, may cause frustration. Playing favorite card games or keeping score during the game is no longer a simple task.
Communication
A person may not be able to follow conversations, especially if the conversation is briefly interrupted. Commonly seen in Lewy Body Dementia, a person fades out of a conversation. Attention spans, focusing abilities and levels of alertness are decreased. Forgetting the names of friends and family as well as common words for familiar objects are communication difficulties seen during early dementia stages. Describing an article just read in the newspaper or a program viewed on television is difficult. A person may jumble or mix up words or not pronounce all the letters of a word.
Social Withdrawal
People may withdrawal from social activities they previously enjoyed and isolate themselves. They are able to recognize the subtle changes of early dementia affecting their cognitive abilities. A person may feel embarrassed or uncomfortable when he is not able to follow a conversation or remember a long-time friend's name. He may no longer hold the same interest in activities because tasks are too difficult to complete.
