Do you know the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease has really been on my radar these days. Now, I know I’m an elder law attorney, so of course it’s on my radar, but even so, the blips on the radar seem to be coming more frequently lately. I came across a study released by MetLife earlier this year that found that Alzheimer’s disease is the second most feared disease by Americans, second only to cancer. However, 62% of those polled admitted they know little or nothing about the disease.
Therefore, I thought I’d share the “Know the 10 Signs” awareness campaign from the Alzheimer’s Association, which is intended to help with early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
THE 10 SIGNS:
1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
4. Confusion with time or place
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationship
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
8. Decreased or poor judgment
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
10. Changes in mood and personality
Please visit this link for more details on each of the signs: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp
It is easy to miss some of the early signs, because with age comes forgetfulness. Here are some examples, also from the Alzheimer’s Association website, that distinguish signs of Alzheimer’s from typical age-related changes:
- Poor judgment and decision-making vs. Making a bad decision once in a while
- Inability to manage a budget vs. Missing a monthly payment
- Losing track of the date or the season vs. Forgetting which day it is and remembering later
I’m stealing this story I heard through the elder law grapevine. A committee was examining a husband and wife to evaluate their capacity and when asked what season it was, they both said, “Football season.” They couldn’t name the month or year, but the examining committee found they were oriented to season!
- Misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them vs. Losing things from time to time
- Difficulty having a conversation vs. Sometimes forgetting which word to use
My grandfather is famous for making up words – like “meambling,” a combo of meandering and ambling (my grandmother almost kills him every time we play Scrabble or UpWords) – but he’s been doing that for years!
Look for a follow-up post next week about facing this fear and planning ahead.
The MetLife survey can be found at: http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/contributions/foundation/alzheimers-2011.pdf
