Alzheimer’s warning signs that families can spot this Christmas

“It’s a pretty common thing for us in terms of an annual model,” says Tim Beanland, knowledge management manager at the charity.

“People often notice changes in their loved ones when they see them at Christmas and therefore think that something is wrong. They often come to see us at the beginning of the year, perhaps when they have returned home from their visit and the holiday season has set in.

There are many reasons why Christmas is often the time when we notice something is wrong. With modern families usually separated by many miles, we may not have seen the person in question for some time. Any change will appear more abrupt and obvious to someone who hasn’t been there every day, Beanland points out.

“There is also something about Christmas that can stress people out,” he says. “Having to cook a big Christmas dinner on time is stressful, and if you do things a little different it can often be when signs of dementia appear or someone is struggling. The Christmas dinner is all an exercise in planning, logistics and timing. This advance planning often goes with a person with dementia. The planning of it all may be overwhelming and not come true for someone who has been good at it before.

It was Christmas, in fact, when Beanland found out about his own mother. “It really struck me how much his home environment had changed,” he recalls. “She wasn’t able to keep things tidy and clean and her refrigerator was in real condition.”

Of course, while it’s normal for someone to keep a messy house, that in itself shouldn’t be alarming. But if an otherwise tidy person becomes significantly less so – or someone who is usually a reliable cook does a terrible job of Christmas lunch – then that could be a sign that they are finding things more difficult than usual. .

Among the red flags reported to the association after previous Christmases are concerns about grandparents who are generally good with their grandchildren but now have difficulty remembering names or recognizing faces. familiar, whereas before they would have been fast. If someone fails to engage in or follow a conversation, or repeat to themselves, that could also indicate a problem. Likewise, if a parent seems to get confused – maybe they didn’t buy gifts for everyone or mislabel the gifts when they would have been meticulous in the past.

“It’s not like normal aging, which is slower,” says Beanland. “With dementia, these changes are more precipitous. You notice it as a change in someone’s ability to do things they would normally have done correctly.