In the middle stage of dementia, symptoms become more noticeable and the person will need more support in managing daily life. This stage of dementia is often the longest. On average it lasts about two to four years.
Stage 7, very severe cognitive decline lasts an average of 2.5 years. A person in this stage usually has no ability to speak or communicate and requires assistance with most activities, including walking. During this stage, caregivers will focus mostly on providing comfort and quality of life.
The most well-known form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, is just one specific type of dementia, and tends to have the slowest progression of all types.
Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline
Short-term memory begins to be more affected, and the person may entirely forget recent events. A person with moderate cognitive decline cannot navigate to new places, and they have significant difficulty completing complex tasks such as managing finances.
Stage seven is the final stage of the dementia progression. At this stage, most people will have no ability to speak or communicate. They will require assistance with most daily activities including walking, dressing, bathing, and toileting. This stage requires 24-hour care and assistance.
Stage 5: Moderately Severe Mental Decline/Moderate Dementia Quality of life: Moderate impact. Your loved one will likely remember some of their past and still recognize loved ones.
Corticobasal syndrome. Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes parts of a person's brain to change over time. As a result of these changes, people living with CBS can experience increased difficulty with their coordination, movement, thinking and speech.
In the final stage of the disease, dementia symptoms are severe. Individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, to carry on a conversation and, eventually, to control movement. They may still say words or phrases, but communicating pain becomes difficult.
If you aren't sure which stage of dementia you or your loved one are in right now, take an online Alzheimer's test. This can help pinpoint an individual's symptoms and stage.
The middle stages of dementia are when anger and aggression are most likely to start. This can occur as other symptoms like wandering, hoarding, and compulsive behaviors can be seen by your loved one.
If the person's mental abilities or behaviour changes suddenly over a day or two, they may have developed a separate health problem. For example, a sudden deterioration or change may be a sign that an infection has led to delirium. Or it may suggest that someone has had a stroke.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
Dementia stage 5: Moderately severe cognitive decline
At this point, a person may no longer be able to carry out normal activities of daily living (ADLs), such as dressing or bathing, or Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) without some caregiver assistance.
Signs of the final stages of dementia include some of the following: Being unable to move around on one's own. Being unable to speak or make oneself understood. Eating problems such as difficulty swallowing.
Most cases of sudden confusion and rapidly progressive dementia in an elderly person are due to delirium caused by infection. Urinary infections and pneumonia can trigger acute confusion that comes on quickly, causing people to be incoherent, muddled and disorientated.
One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection. A person in the later stages of dementia may have symptoms that suggest that they are close to death, but can sometimes live with these symptoms for many months.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
Moderate Stages
During moderate to severe stages, symptoms are very noticeable. Your loved one may struggle to form simple sentences or understand conversations. Slurring, stammering, repetition and use of incorrect words or phrases are common.
On average, people with vascular dementia will progress faster than those with Alzheimer's disease. There is some overlap in the symptoms of each disease, but each has a unique profile.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
In the earlier stages, memory loss and confusion may be mild. The person with dementia may be aware of — and frustrated by — the changes taking place, such as difficulty recalling recent events, making decisions or processing what was said by others.
Stage 2: Basic Forgetfulness
Your loved one might have memory lapses, including forgetting people's names or where they left their keys, but they can still drive, work and be social.