Independent & Assisted Living Community • Alzheimer's Care
747 Water Street • Framingham MA 01701 • 508.788.6050
Serving Framingham, Wayland, Sudbury, Natick and MetroWest communities
Alzheimer's Stages
Early Stage
Patient
Less sparkle
Less initiative and drive
Word-finding problems
Short-term memory loss
Patient may be aware there is a problem
Increasing inability to handle routine tasks
Appears self-absorbed, insensitive
Difficulty planning, making decisions
Inability to calculate
Seeks and prefers the familiar,shuns the unfamiliar
Changes in ability to show feelings, control temper, handle frustration
Family
Difficult seeing problems
Patient may cover up ("stress," "overworked,"etc.) and family helps to compensate
Needs to be available for reassurance and varying degrees of supervision
Diagnosis may or may not be sought; family may deny diagnosis, refuse to acknowledge progression or plan for the future
Mid-Stage
Patient
Behavioral changes
(sleep, wandering)
Disoriented
(time and place)
Problems understanding
and with self-expression
in speaking and writing
Problems with judgment
May not recognize
familiar people
Repetitive actions
Great difficulty in
decision making
May feel guilty and sad
over loss of person they
once loved/knew
Catastrophic actions
Memory of recent past
poor or failing
Memory of distant past astonishingly clear
Lethargic, little warmth
Family
Caregiver often isolated
from friends and other
family
May become target for
patient's anger and
frustration
May develop own
health problems
Late Stage
Patient
Apathetic, unable to
communicate
Unable to care for self,
requiring 24-hour care
Poor remote and recent
memory / Incontinent
Movement toward
assuming fetal position
Eventual shutting down
of mind and body
Family
Caregiver often burned out
Family may decide on
nursing home placement,
feel guilty
Change of role from
caregiver to care manager
Grieving loss
Poem "Unfurled", written by Mal Allard for personal perspective on memory and cognitive losses
Heritage at Framingham - Classic Assisted Living Community - Alzheimer's & Memory Care
Serving Framingham, Wayland, Sudbury, Natick and other surrounding communities
Heritage at Framingham MA is a unique, five-star assisted living facility with a specialized Homestead program for residents with Alzheimer's disease and other memory impairments. Serving residents and their families from Framingham, Sudbury, Ashland, Holliston, Sherborn, Wayland, Marlborough, Natick, Southborough, Wellesley, Newton, Needham, Hudson and other Boston metrowest and central Mass communities.
