Early Clues
10 Changes Worth Discussing With a Clinician
Occasional forgetfulness can happen with normal aging. A more concerning pattern is a change that is new, getting worse, or beginning to interfere with work, relationships, safety, finances, medications, driving, or other everyday responsibilities.
- New short-term memory problems: repeatedly forgetting recent conversations, events, or information.
- More difficulty planning: struggling with bills, recipes, schedules, or multi-step tasks that were previously manageable.
- Trouble with familiar activities: becoming unsure how to complete routine tasks at home, work, or in the community.
- Losing track of time or place: becoming confused about dates, seasons, locations, or how one arrived somewhere.
- Changes in visual-spatial judgment: new difficulty judging distance, navigating, reading visual information, or orienting in space.
- Language changes: increasing trouble finding words, following conversations, naming familiar objects, or expressing thoughts.
- Misplacing items in unusual places: especially when the person cannot retrace steps to find them.
- Changes in judgment: unusual financial decisions, unsafe choices, or reduced awareness of personal care and safety.
- Pulling away from activities: withdrawing from hobbies, work, social events, or conversations because keeping up has become difficult.
- Noticeable mood or personality changes: new anxiety, fearfulness, irritability, suspicion, apathy, or behavior that is out of character.
What to do: One symptom does not prove Alzheimer’s disease. Memory and thinking changes can have many causes, including medications, sleep problems, depression, infection, thyroid disease, vitamin deficiencies, hearing or vision problems, stroke, and other medical conditions. A clinician can help determine what is causing the change.