ASHLAND – Too often, people ignore the early signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia and don’t get help or begin planning as early as they should.

Tessa Clark, a licensed practical nurse and program coordinator for Alzheimer’s Association’s Northwest Ohio Chapter, wants to help residents of Ashland, Richland, Crawford and Knox counties, along with the other three counties she serves, start the conversation earlier. 

“All the decisions that have to be made about care and legal issues and finances, if you’re in your early stages, you can make these decisions yourself,” Clark said.  

Clark led a session at Ashland Public Library Thursday during which she walked the approximately 20 attendees through 10 signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Each type of dementia has differences in signs and symptoms, but most dementia ailments share many similarities, Clark said.

These are the 10 most common signs of Alzheimer’s and related dementia illnesses:

  1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
    • Forgetting important dates or events
    • Asking the same questions over and over
    • Increasingly relying on memory aids or family members for tasks formerly managed with ease
  2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
    • Trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills
    • Difficulty concentrating and taking much longer to complete tasks
  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks
    • Trouble driving to a familiar location
    • Difficulty organizing a grocery list
    • Trouble remembering rules of a favorite game
  4. Confusion with time or place
    1. Trouble understanding something if it is not happening immediately
    2. Forgetting where one is or how they got there
  5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
    • Difficulty with balance
    • Trouble reading
    • Problems judging distance and determining color or contrast, which may cause issues with driving
  6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
    • Stopping in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue
    • Repeating themselves
    • Struggling with vocabulary
    • Having trouble naming a familiar object or using the wrong name
  7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps 
    • Being unable to go back over steps to find misplaced items
    • Accusing others of stealing
  8. Decreased or poor judgement
    • Using poor judgement when dealing with money
    • Paying less attention to personal cleanliness or grooming
  9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
    • Withdrawing from hobbies, social activities or other engagements
    • Having trouble keeping up with a favorite team or hobby
  10. Changes in mood and personality
    1. Becoming confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious
    2. Getting easily upset at home, with friends or when out of one’s comfort zone 

If anyone recognizes one or more of these signs in themselves or a loved one, Clark said, the first thing to do is to start talking.

“It doesn’t have to be me, but talk to someone,” she said, adding that talking to family members and friends, finding a support group or reaching out to the Alzheimer’s Association is a good first step. A 24-hour hotline is available at 800-272-3900. 

Clark said it is important to begin conversations early, while the person with possible dementia or Alzheimer’s is able to participate in decision-making and planning. It can be much more difficult and painful to start planning later in the process, when family members may disagree about what is best or what the person would want.

If any of the signs are present, she said, it is important to talk to a doctor. The person with suspected dementia should not go to the doctor’s appointment alone, Clark said, and it is a good idea for the family member or friend who accompanies the person to bring a list of the person’s abnormal actions or behaviors.

A primary care doctor is likely to perform interviews, screenings or tests and may refer the patient to a specialist.

Often, a person exhibiting signs that seem to be Alzheimer’s may be diagnosed with a different form of dementia or with something else altogether, such as depression or a severe urinary tract infection. In some cases, it may be Alzheimer’s, which is now diagnosable about 98 percent of the time, Clark said.

Thursday’s event was the first in a series of sessions be to be held at the Ashland library from 3 to 4 p.m. on the following dates:

  • Oct. 25, 2018 – Know the 10 Signs
  • Dec. 20, 2018 – Understanding dementia and Alzheimer’s
  • Feb. 21, 2019 – Effective Communication Strategies
  • April 18, 2019 – Dementia Conversations
  • June 20, 2019 – Legal and Financial
  • Aug. 15, 2019 – Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behaviors
  • Oct. 17, 2019 – Living with Alzheimer’s for Caregivers – Early Stage
  • Jan. 16, 2020 – Living with Alzheimer’s for Caregivers – Middle Stage
  • March 19, 2020 – Living with Alzheimer’s for Caregivers – Late Stage
  • May 21, 2020 – Living with Alzheimer’s for Younger – Onset

In addition to the sessions, Clark will be available in Ashland for office hours at the library during the days of each session. Families may come in for consultations starting at 9 a.m. 

For more information, contact the Tessa Clark, Program Coordinator of the Northwest Ohio Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association at 800-272-3900 or 419-512-5050, or the Ashland Public Library by calling 419-289-8188, visiting www.ashland.lib.oh.us, stopping by the service desk at the main library located at 224 Claremont Avenue, Ashland, Ohio, or via the social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.

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