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Describe the Type of Memory Loss

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1.2 Describe the types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia. Memory problems are usually the most obvious symptom in people with dementia. For example, a person with early stages of dementia might go to the shops and then cannot remember what they wanted. It is also common to misplace objects. As dementia progresses, sometimes memory loss for recent events is severe and the person may appear to be living in the past. They may think of themselves as young and not recognise their true age. At first, someone with dementia may appear to be easily irritated or moody. More challenging behaviour may develop in some people over time. For example, in some cases, a person with dementia may become quite …show more content…

Some of the most common symptoms include a of loss inhibition (saying or doing things which are socially inappropriate), reduced empathy (problems understanding and responding to the needs of others), problems with planning and organising activities, increased distractibility, changes in food preference (a propensity to eat large quantities of sweet food) and a tendency to develop compulsive rituals (e.g. watching the same movie repeatedly). (2) Progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) is characterised by problems with speech production. Individuals may struggle to find the correct words when engaging in conversation. Often individuals will struggle to pronounce words correctly (especially if they have more than two syllables), and their speech will lack appropriate grammar. Problems understanding speech can also be present, especially if the sentence contains complex grammar. (3) Semantic dementia is characterised by a selective deficit of semantic memory, which is our memory store for factual information about the world around us – e.g., the knowledge that apples are fruit is a semantic memory. Individuals affected by this condition have difficulty understanding the meaning of written and spoken language, pictures and objects. In some cases of semantic dementia a mild form of the behavioural

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