Understanding The Stages of Dementia
Understanding the basic stages of dementia is critical for both family and professional caregivers supporting patients with the debilitating condition. Health professionals usually discuss dementia in stages based on how far a person’s dementia has progressed. This helps to determine the best treatment approach and assists with communication between health providers and caregivers. The stages are sometimes referred to as “early stage”, “middle stage” or “late-stage”, but often a more exact stage can be identified based on a person’s symptoms.
We think the following broad stages best reflect the logical progression:
1. High-Early Stage of Dementia
Cellular death in the area of the brain responsible for executive cognitive function, which is the last to develop and the first to decline, presents as the earliest stage of dementia. This stage is often seen in conjunction with regular activities of daily living (ADLs), which include driving, managing medications, managing finances, and cooking. At this stage, seniors may need a caregiver at home to provide daily support for solving problems or adjusting to routine changes.
2. Low-Early Stage of Dementia
A telltale sign that dementia is progressing manifests in the degradation of ADLs pertinent to personal care such as dressing or showering. At this stage, seniors may need 24-hour supervision because judgement skills may be significantly impaired, increasing the possibility of accidents and injury. Compromised cognitive ability may also make seniors with low-early stage dementia susceptible to predatory behavior by people trying to take advantage of the situation. This stage may be hard to identify because some critical abilities may remain and seniors could still be able to carry out sequenced tasks for themselves. It is crucial at this stage for caregivers to leverage seniors’ long-term memory to increase opportunities for independence and to limit anxiety.
3. Middle Stage of Dementia
Although there will be various levels of cognitive loss during this time, the middle stage brings major memory deficiencies. Seniors may no longer be goal-oriented and will likely be unable to follow sequential tasks. It is common for seniors to forget their address or telephone numbers at this stage. Caregivers will need to simplify tasks and also look for ways to jog memories based on familiar aspects of a routine process. It is important to continue to encourage seniors to be participatory in meaningful activities which can be simplified at this stage.
4. Late Stage of Dementia
The late stage of dementia is one of the most challenging for both the patient and caregivers. At this stage, seniors start to forget names of close family members and have little memory of recent events. They may only be able to recall limited details of earlier life. Incontinence is a common problem in this stage. The ability to speak begins to decline and personality changes, such as delusions, compulsions or anxiety and agitation are likely to occur. Fine motor coordination becomes noticeably compromised at this stage and additional health issues may contribute to greater functional loss. Caregivers should attempt to get seniors to continue to participate in two key ADLs; self-feeding and toileting.
5. End Stage of Dementia
The brain has significantly atrophied at the final stage of dementia and seniors may be mute and confined to their beds. People in this stage have essentially no ability to speak or communicate and will usually require assistance with most activities. They often lose psychomotor skills completely, such as the ability to walk. Senior will still have their five senses intact though and can respond and engage with anyone who stimulates them. Even at this stage, seniors are capable of some level of interaction provided that activities are reduced to the basic sensory level.
Dealing with the harsh realities of dementia and its impact on loved ones can be incredibly stressful for a family. Hiring a professional home care agency, like United Medical Care LLC, can greatly reduce that stress because we offer a true partnership with families and use collective economy of effort to provide the best possible care for dementia patients.
Contact us at 1-844-687-7378, or admin@unitedmedicalcare.org, for more information and let us bring health care to your home.
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