Final answer:
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease symptoms progress through three stages: mild dementia characterized by disruptive memory loss and difficulty in planning tasks; moderate dementia with confusion about time and personality changes; and severe dementia with significant communication, movement impairment, and loss of environmental awareness.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dementia is a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of progressive dementia. Clinicians often categorize the progression of Alzheimer's disease into three main stages: mild (early-stage), moderate (middle-stage), and severe (late-stage).
Stage One: Mild Dementia
- Disruptive memory loss: Forgetting recently learned information or important dates or events.
- Difficulty planning or executing tasks: Challenges in developing and following a plan or working with numbers.
Stage Two: Moderate Dementia
- Confusion about time or place: Losing track of dates, seasons, and the passage of time.
- Personality changes: Becoming confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, or anxious.
Stage Three: Severe Dementia
- Difficulty in speaking, swallowing, and walking: Communication becomes poor and the ability to control movement declines significantly.
- Loss of awareness of recent experiences as well as of their environment: Failing to recognize themselves or close relatives.