Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

Early Stage

In the early stage, many people with Alzheimer’s disease have memory-related problems such as:

• needing help finding a lost set of keys
• not remembering an old friend’s name

Caregivers in the earlier stages of dementia support and help the person with dementia and thus are sometimes called care partners rather than caregivers.

Moderate Stage

During the moderate stage, caregivers must help the person with AD with time-consuming or distressing tasks. For example:

• assisting with activities of daily living – bathing, dressing, preparing food and eating, using the bathroom, etc.
• dealing with problem behavior and personality changes

Late Stage

People in the late stage of AD often:

• lose the ability to speak
• lose control of their bowels
• lose the ability to move around easily
• require around-the-clock care