Early Onset Dementia (Before Age 65)

In speaking with people concerned about getting Early Onset Dementia, we often hear things like, “I keep losing my car keys.”  “Where did I park my car when I came out of the shopping mall?” “I can’t remember how to spell (a common word.)” and, “I don’t remember a name!” Is this really the first sign of Early Onset? With the age of information overload and all the multi-tasking we try to do every day, the answer is probably no. 

Early Onset accounts for about 5% of the population and is quite rare for the young.  Disease of the brain, poor health and nutrition can contribute to that younger individual experiencing brain function decline.  And truly, all of us should be actively trying to protect our brain by doing some of the same things those that have the disease should do.  For example, we should get plenty of sleep, water and good nutrition including Omega’s and other vitamins that we consider brain food.  We should avoid the drugs, alcohol and pharmaceuticals that harm our cognition.

These are some things that are signs of Early Onset:

Loss of Interest in activities once loved.  Once the individual loses interest in these activates, he may become depressed and show a lack of energy or apathy.  Why?  Just keeping up with normal actives may take more energy from the person with dementia for one.  When one is sad and down planning for outings and actives is too difficult and so the cycle continues.  Families really need to help out here.

Communication impairment makes it more difficult to connect the words in your head to your thoughts, presenting a challenge when one is trying to participate in a conversation.  Another aspect is being able to follow the conversation when others are speaking.   Often the individual is confused and misreads the intent of the words as their understanding is declining. 

Memory Loss is more defined and a bigger challenge.  This is the most common sign that one will encounter, such as forgetting the day of the week, what was eaten for a meal, how to do things that were once so easy to do like playing a game or writing a letter.  Remote memories are still there but what a person had for lunch may be gone by dinner.  As the memory declines, more help is needed for the person’s safety and health.  More help may be needing in grooming and in getting supplies and keeping appointments.

Concentration and Focus Decline:

Dementia has a profound impact on a person’s ability to recall or learn new information.  As the disease progresses and the brain’s health deteriorates, one will find it difficult to concentrate and focus.  Following a movie, story line, or a recipe from a cookbook becomes much more difficult. 

Perhaps the most difficult for the Early Onset individual and the family is the Mood and Behavior Issue.  Unexplained mood swings, such as anger when there is no reason to be angry, agitation and rudeness to people can happen at any time.  It is so out of character from those who have never exhibited this kind of behavior and so shocking, but it is a real symptom of the disease.  Sometimes, they will express this anger with non-typical language as their filter is not working in these situations.  They feel a sadness, suspicion and lack of trust for people they love, often accusing family of stealing money or doing things the family would never do to them.  Remember if this behavior is coming from your family member with dementia, know it comes from their anxiety and the feeling that something is just not right in their world.  It is overwhelming and frightening to have Early Onset Alzheimer’s.

Hopefully, this information will bring understanding to us as we love and care for family and friends experiencing Early Onset.  Not all who suffer from dementia have all the symptoms mentioned, but it is our challenge to find ways to share comfort and security to those we know.  

 

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