Early diagnosis of dementia is crucial to preventing a crisis and for planning treatment and care. It is difficult to tell if cognition changes are simply age related changes (normal aging) or dementia (not normal aging).

Therefore, knowing when to seek in-home care or place a loved one in a senior living home is very difficult to judge. This is especially true for individuals without a serious medical condition outside of their cognitive changes.

What is the difference between simple forgetfulness and a serious memory loss?

Here are some warning signs of memory loss that may signal the need for assistance care. They were gathered from a variety of sources:

Does he/she repeat questions more frequently?	Yes	No
Does he/she exhibit poor grooming and personal hygiene	Yes	No
Does he/she forget to take medications or take them incorrectly?	Yes	No
Has there been a change in eating habits or loss of appetite?	Yes	No
Is outdated food in the refrigerator or little nutritious food?	Yes	No
Has driving been impaired? Frequent accidents?	Yes	No
Is he/she increasingly forgetful?	Yes	No
Is he/she moody or depressed?	Yes	No
Has there been a loss of interest in socializing?	Yes	No
Is he/she less interested in former activities?	Yes	No
Is he/she unsteady on her feet or does she fall frequently?	Yes	No
Does he/she have difficulty concentrating?	Yes	No
Does he/she exhibit poor judgment?	Yes	No
Is he/she incontinent?	Yes	No
Is there trouble handling finances? Are there unpaid bills?	Yes	No
Does he/she spend long periods of time doing nothing?	Yes	No
Have others noticed personality changes?	Yes	No
Is there unopened mail lying around?	Yes	No
Is there poor housekeeping or unsafe conditions?	Yes	No
Does he/she have trouble making decisions?	Yes	No
Does he/she get lost?	Yes	No
Does he/she have trouble finding the right words?	Yes	No
Does he/she wear the same clothes over and over again?	Yes	No

This is also available here has a printable worksheet to fill out and bring to your next appointment with your physician.

See your physician for further evaluation if you have answered “yes” to a majority of these questions. Then call us to learn more about our home and how we can serve your loved one on his or her dementia journey.

Parks’ Place Memory Care is a privately owned assisted living home, specialized and specifically designed for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Our home is for people of any stage of dementia so they are able to age-in-place in their home. For tours, general information, or admission inquiry, please contact Kaitlin Kelly at 612-358-3725.