It is normal to experience some decline in memory and other cognitive abilities as a consequence of aging. However, it is important to note that major changes in cognitive abilities are not a normal consequence of getting older and may indicate the onset of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Below is a list of some of the major early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease and the differences between these and what is considered normal. If you are experiencing one or more of these early symptoms, or if you notice them in a loved one, make an appointment with a doctor to have an evaluation. If you or your loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, there are things you can do to help, including drugs you can take and behavioral adaptations you can adopt that may slow the cognitive declines.

Memory loss

Memory loss is one of the most common age-related cognitive changes. Occasionally forgetting names or appointments, where you parked your car, why you entered a room, or even your own phone number is normal. People with early Alzheimer’s disease may find they are unable to recall most newly-learned information, especially recent events or simple directions, or may constantly forget names, dates, and other critical information.

Difficulty with simple tasks

Another common age-related issue is occasional difficulty performing a familiar task. However, finding it hard to complete common tasks each day may be a sign of dementia. For example forgetting the rules for a game you are playing or blanking on how to tie your shoes once can be normal. For people with Alzheimer’s, once-routine tasks that require sequential steps, such as cooking, become a struggle.

Language problems

Everyone, young or old, occasionally has trouble finding the right word. Most people also have times when they find it difficult to express themselves. As we age, these language difficulties may become more common. People with Alzheimer’s disease tend to have these moments often. They may speak using strange substitute words in place of those they can’t remember and it may come out making no sense at all. Early Alzheimer’s may also cause people’s writing to become less coherent due to the same language deficits.

Disorientation

We all have times when we momentarily forget where we are or what time of day it is, especially if we become engrossed in a story or are lacking sleep. Usually this feeling is fleeting and a moment of thought will return us to the correct time and place. People with Alzheimer’s disease may find this spatial and temporal disorientation much more profound and lasting. They might become lost in their own neighborhood and have to ask someone for help to get back home. They may also become confused about the time of day or even lose track of the current year.

Poor judgment

Making decisions for the wrong reasons is an unfortunate consequence of being human; we all use our hearts more than our heads from time to time. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by greater difficulty in doing most activities that require planning, decision making, and judgment. For example, a person with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately by wearing several layers on a warm day or shorts and a tee-shirt in the snow. They may also show poor judgment when it comes to financial decisions or decide to end a social relationship over trifling differences.

Problems with abstract thinking

Abstract thinking requires looking beyond the concrete and literal in order to interpret concepts on a more complex level. People are usually very good at abstraction, but we all occasionally fail to see the meaning in something because we can’t see beyond the literal interpretation; this may seem to occur more frequently as we age. However, someone with early Alzheimer’s disease may have unusual difficulty performing complex mental tasks that require abstraction such as telling time from an analog clock and may even forget what numbers represent or how they should be used.

Misplacing things

We all misplace things like our purse or our keys, but most of us don’t put a shoe in the freezer. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places because they forget where they should normally go: milk in the cupboard, socks in the dishwasher.

Changes in personality or mood

While it is normal to act differently depending on your mood, wild mood swings or dramatic changes in personality may be early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Someone with Alzheimer’s may change moods rapidly from joy to anger to tears and back again. Another sign of early Alzheimer’s is a change in personality, from normally laid back to paranoid and suspicious or from independent and secure to needy and scared. Early on, this may be a response to the frustration they feel as they notice changes in their memory and feel powerless to do anything about it. These are also signs of depression, which often coexists with Alzheimer’s disease.

Loss of initiative

Aging can cause people to lose energy and interest for some activities they previously enjoyed. Normally, however, this is minor and may often be replaced by interests in other things. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may become quite passive, losing interest in most activities and spending much more time sleeping or watching TV.