Your elderly loved one might experience age-related cognitive changes over time. Dementia, for example, is a syndrome that causes a decline in mental function to the point that daily life is impacted. Your senior might need an in-home caregiver to help them perform routine tasks. To determine whether your senior needs home health care services, here are a few signs of dementia to be aware of.  

What Are the Early Signs of Dementia?

1. Memory Loss

Dementia causes common forgetfulness to become more severe. Your loved one might struggle to recall old information and retain new information, such as the date and time of appointments and the names of people they've recently met. Due to memory loss, they might write reminder notes or use the alert functions on their electronic devices frequently. Your loved one might forget that they've asked a question and therefore ask it over and over again in a short amount of time. 

2. Language Difficulties

When your loved one has dementia, you might notice changes in the way they converse. They might forget the correct words to use when talking about familiar places or objects and instead use related or unrelated words. Because your senior easily loses their train of thought, they might stop a conversation in mid-sentence, too.

3. Struggle to Perform Familiar Tasks

When a person has dementia, their appearance might change. That's because the decline in mental function makes it hard to perform tasks that were once second-nature, such as bathing, washing clothes, and grooming themselves. An individual might forget to prepare meals as well, resulting in weight loss. An in-home caregiver will help ensure your loved one's basic needs are met so they remain safe and can also tackle chores on your loved one's to-do list.

If you or a loved one needs help with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) which includes meal preparation, light housekeeping, toileting and bathing, trust the professionals at Deer Valley Home Health Services in St. Louis, MO. There’s also the option of arranging for private duty nurse visits if you do not qualify for Medicaid. Call (314) 355-3679 to discuss your specific needs, or visit them online to learn more about their services.