Alzheimer’s disease often begins with subtle but easily recognizable symptoms. Watching for these early signs can help you identify the disease early on so you can provide your senior loved one with the appropriate treatment and support.
1. Excessive Forgetfulness
At the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, seniors are likely to experience excessive forgetfulness. Signs of severe memory loss include repeating questions or stories again and again within a short time, being unable to name the current season or year, and frequently losing items. A professional evaluation can determine the cause and severity of your loved one’s memory loss.
If your elderly loved one is living with a serious medical condition and needs help managing the tasks of daily living, reach out to Home Care Assistance, an Oakville home care company you can trust. Our caregivers are available 24/7, there are no hidden fees in our contracts, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our in-home care services.
2. Communication Difficulties
Difficulty writing or speaking is common in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms to watch for include forgetting specific words and having difficulty following conversations. Try keeping your sentences short and simple to engage your loved one in the conversation. To prevent your loved one from becoming withdrawn, provide plenty of time to think of the words he or she needs to finish sentences.
3. Personality and Behavioral Changes
Alzheimer’s disease can cause surprising changes in personality and behavior. Behavioral changes to look for include losing interest in favorite hobbies and avoiding social activities. Your loved one may also experience emotional changes such as becoming anxious or depressed. Significant, sudden, and unexplained changes in behavior or personality should be evaluated by a doctor immediately to rule out serious illnesses.
Caring for a senior loved one can be a difficult task, especially if he or she is exhibiting challenging behaviors. Families who find it difficult to care for their aging loved ones without assistance can benefit greatly from professional respite care. Oakville, ON, family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties can turn to Home Care Assistance. Using our proprietary Balanced Care Method, our respite caregivers can encourage your loved one to eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of mental and social stimulation, and focus on other lifestyle factors that promote longevity.
4. Reduced Planning Skills
Poor planning skills and difficulty working with numbers are symptoms that appear during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Your loved one may lose track of monthly bills, be unable to monitor finances, or have difficulty with basic math like addition and subtraction. Impulsive financial decisions, such as giving away large amounts of money to a stranger, are also common. Monitor your loved one’s spending to manage his or her finances more effectively. You can also consider contacting your loved one’s bank to prevent large, unplanned withdrawals from his or her checking or savings account.
5. Inability to Judge Distance
Alzheimer’s disease causes physical changes in the brain that can affect spatial reasoning, making it difficult to judge distance and interpret images. Some signs that visual interpretation is decreasing include misidentifying colors or shapes. Though symptoms can vary from person to person, watching for the most common signs of Alzheimer’s disease allows your loved one to receive prompt care for a more fulfilling lifestyle after the diagnosis.
Recovering from a stroke, managing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, and a variety of other health-related situations can make it difficult for a senior to continue living at home without someone there to help. Oakville, ON, live-in care professionals are trained to help seniors who need 24/7 assistance. With the help of a live-in caregiver, your elderly loved one can maintain a higher quality of life while aging in place. To create a comprehensive in-home care plan for your senior loved one, call Home Care Assistance at (905) 337-1200 today.