Levels of Impairment and Symptoms of Dementia
| Mild Impairment | Moderate Impairment | Severe Impairment | Terminal |
| Recent memory loss at times | Chronic, recent memory loss | Inability to Carry on any conversation | Mute or few incoherent words |
| Mild difficulty with verbal expression | Increased inability to comprehend and carry on a conversation | Difficulty with wayfinding | Bedridden or wheelchair bound |
| Decreased concentration | Difficulty in writing and using objects correctly | Misidentifies persons or objects | Minimally connected to surroundings |
| Slowed learning and reactions | Visual-spatial perception problems | Bladder incontinence | Little spontaneous movement |
| Seeks and prefers the familiar; avoids the unfamiliar | Possible delutions, hallucinations and agitation | Unsteady gait | Difficulty in eating and swallowing |
| Difficulty with planning and decisionmaking | Repetitive actions | Needs help with most or all activities of daily living | Seizures, muscle twitching |
| Some erros in judgment and calculation | May get lost at times, even inside the home | Cachexia | |
| Lack of spontaneity and lessening of initiative | Needs reminder to perform activities of daily living | Requires total care |
Excerpted
from DR Kuhn. The normative crises of families confronting dementia
Alzheimer's Outreach http://alzheimers.zarcrom.com
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