Every individual with dementia is unique, especially in the way their comprehension and speech deteriorate. Below, we discuss the most common changes observed in individuals at early, moderate, and advanced stages of dementia. These characteristics are most applicable to individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Word finding problems E.g. “I would like another one of those … things”
• Distorting words when naming Eg. “I would like another cup of loffe … joffie … ?”
• Pace of speech is slowed down
• Comprehension delay might go unnoticed in the early stages.
• During storytelling, forgetting that the listener lacks prior context occurs. For instance, saying, ‘He came into my room just now and…’ might prompt the listener to ask, ‘Who can enter your room?’
•Difficulty arises in understanding jokes and figurative language.
• Individuals often remain aware of their language-related challenges.
All previous characteristics + …
• Taking less initiative to start and maintain a conversation
• Repeating words and phrases
• Less complex sentence structure
• Not finishing a story anymore
• More automatisms and standard phrases with no link to anything substantive E.g. “It’s not all gold that shines”
• Stronger word-finding problems and word distortions
• Comprehension decreases
• Written language is generally better understood than spoken language
In advanced stages of dementia, and particularly in the end stage, spoken language is significantly diminished or absent. It’s crucial to pay close attention to non-verbal cues to understand what someone is trying to communicate or convey