Alzheimer’s presents itself in various forms throughout the early, middle, and late phases. At Home Care Providers, our Orange County home care services can expertly provide the following stages that can happen to your loved one with Alzheimer’s.
- Early phase
- May need hands-on care
- May get lost easily
- Changes in personality
- Middle phase
- Needs reminders
- Daily routines are difficult
- Concentration is difficult
- Late phase
- Severe confusion
- Needs hands-on Alzheimer’s caregiver support for most personal needs
- May not recognize self or family
The Most Common Stages Of Alzheimer’s
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) People who experience mild cognitive impairment have slight changes in their thinking and memory ability. These changes are not significant enough to affect work life or relationships yet. People with MCI can have memory lapses when it comes to information that is usually easily remembered, such as recent events, conversations, or appointments. People with MCI can also have trouble judging the amount of time necessary for a task, or they may have difficulty accurately judging the number or sequence of steps required to complete a task. The ability to make sound decisions can increasingly become harder for people with MCI. However, not everyone with mild cognitive impairment has Alzheimer’s disease.
MCI can often be diagnosed based on the doctor’s review of symptoms. But if necessary, the same procedures used to identify preclinical Alzheimer’s disease can help provide the best memory care support to accurately determine whether MCI is due to Alzheimer’s disease or is being caused by something else. Mild Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s disease can often be diagnosed in the mild Alzheimer’s stage when it becomes clear to family and doctors that a person has significant trouble with thinking and memory capabilities that impacts daily functioning.
Mild Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Stage
- Memory loss of recent events. Individuals can have an especially hard time remembering newly learned information and ask the same question repeatedly.
- Difficulty with complex tasks, problem-solving, and sound judgments. Balancing a checkbook or planning a family event can become overwhelming. Many people experience lapses in their judgment, such as when making financial decisions.
- Changes in personality. People may become withdrawn or subdued—especially in socially challenging situations—or show uncharacteristic anger or irritability. Reduced motivation to complete daily tasks is also common.
- Difficulty expressing and organizing thoughts. Finding the correct words to describe objects or clearly express ideas becomes increasingly difficult.
- Misplacing belongings or getting lost. Individuals can have increasing trouble finding their way around, even in familiar places. It’s also common to misplace or lose things, including valuable items.
Moderate Alzheimer’s
- Show increasingly poor judgment and deepening confusion. Individuals can lose track of where they are, the day of the week, or the season.
- They can confuse family or close friends with one another or mistake strangers for family members.
- They may wander, possibly in search of particular surroundings that feel more familiar. These difficulties make it unsafe and dangerous to leave individuals.
- Experience even more significant memory loss.
- Need help with daily activities from caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients.
- Assistance may be required with choosing the proper clothing for an outing along with grooming, bathing, using the bathroom, and other self-care, to provide the best memory care. Some individuals occasionally lose control of their bowel movements or bladder.
- Undergo significant changes in personality and behavior.
- Individuals can often grow agitated or restless, especially when it’s late in the day. Some people can also have outbursts of aggressive physical behavior.
Experience Comprehensive At-Home Memory Care
As your loved one’s condition declines, our professional Orange County at-home memory care offers the adaptability needed in caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
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