What do we mean by signs and stages of dementia?
There are many different types of dementia and all of them are progressive. This means symptoms may be relatively mild at first but they get worse with time, usually over several years. These include problems with memory, thinking, problem-solving orlanguage, and often changes in emotions, perception or behaviour.
As dementia progresses, a person will need more help and, at some point, will need a lot of support with daily living. However, dementia is different foreveryone, so it will vary how soon this happensand the type of support needed.
It can be helpful to think of there being three stages of dementia:
These are sometimes called mild, moderate and severe, because this describes how much the symptomsaffect a person.
These stages can be used to understand how dementia is likely to change over time, and to help people prepare for the future. The stages also act as a guide to when certain treatments, such as medicines for Alzheimer’s disease, are likely to work best.
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How important are the stages of dementia?
The stages of dementia are just a guide and there is nothing significant about the number three. Equally,dementia doesn’t follow an exact or certain set of steps that happen in the same way for every personwith dementia.
It can be difficult to tell when a person’s dementia has progressed from one stage to another because:
- some symptoms may appear in a different order to the stages described in this factsheet, or not at all
- the stages may overlap – the person may need help with someaspects of everyday life but manage other tasks and activities on their own
- some symptoms, particularly those linked to behaviours, may develop at one stage and then reduce or even disappear later on. Other symptoms, such as memory loss and problems with language and thinking, tend to stay and get worse with time.
It is natural to ask which stage a person is at or what might happen next. But it is more important to focus on the person in the present moment. This includes their needs and how they can live well, and how to help them with this.
For more support on living well with dementia seeThe dementia guide: living well after diagnosis(for people livingwith dementia) or Caring for a person with dementia: a practical guide (for carers).
And for more information about treatment and support for the different types of dementia go to the following pages:
