The 7 Stages Of Alzheimer’s Disease

1. Alzheimer’s Stage 1: No cognitive impairment
2. Alzheimer’s Stage 2: Very mild cognitive decline
3. Alzheimer’s Stage 3: Mild cognitive decline
4. Alzheimer’s Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline
5. Alzheimer’s Stage 5: Moderately severe cognitive decline
6. Alzheimer’s Stage 6: Severe cognitive decline
7. Alzheimer’s Stage 7: Very severe cognitive decline

Alzheimer’s Stage 1: No cognitive impairment

At this stage the individual will show no impaired memory functions and none will be evident under examination from a health care professional.

Alzheimer’s Stage 2: Very mild cognitive decline

The individual will show mild signs of the disease such as memory lapses where the person affected will forget names, recent events, familiar words and the location of everyday objects such as pens, wrist watches and keys for example. This stage of Alzheimer’s isn’t usually detected during a medical examination and by friends and loved ones, or indeed the person affected by these ‘changes’.

Alzheimer’s Stage 3: Mild cognitive decline

This is the stage where some individuals (but not all) can be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s as certain symptoms become telling to others such as family and friends or work colleagues for example.

Symptoms to look out for:

  • Word or name finding problems.
  • Inability to remember the names of people when introduced to these new people.
  • Inability to remember passages of text the individual has recently read.
  • Inability to plan and organize functionally.
  • Inability to perform in social or work environments to usual standards.
  • Misplacing a valuable object or item and forgetting where that object is.
  • Inability to write coherently with unusual words appearing throughout.

Alzheimer’s Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline

This is the stage where under careful medical examination, the individual shows clear deficiencies or signs of deterioration in some or all of the following:

  • Impaired memory of recent occasions or current events.
  • Impaired ability to perform abstract mental tasks such as counting backwards from 100 in 7s.
  • Impaired ability to perform tasks that require planning such as a meal or managing finances.
  • Decreased memory of personal experiences or history.
  • A subdued or withdrawn state of mind in social or mentally challenging situations.

Alzheimer’s Stage 5: Moderately severe cognitive decline

This is the stage where individuals start to show major gaps in memory function and a decline in cognitive thinking. At this stage everyday assistance is often essential to the individual.

Symptoms to look out for:

  • Inability to recall personal address, date of birth, their own telephone number or where they went to school or college.
  • Inability to determine time, date of day, what week or year it is and even what season the calendar is in such as summer or winter for example.
  • Impaired ability to perform less challenging abstract tasks such as counting backwards from 20 in 2s.
  • Require assistance in choosing correct clothing for the calendar season such as summer or winter. Often sufferers will choose winter clothing for the summer and vice versa for the winter.
  • Can recall their own name, names of children or loved ones with a high degree of knowledge.
  • Don’t require assistance when eating or using the toilet for example.

Alzheimer’s Stage 6: Severe cognitive decline

This is the stage where impaired memory function begins to worsen further, affecting the individual’s personality and again, sufferers will require extensive daily care.

Symptoms to look out for:

  • A loss of awareness of recent events, experiences and surroundings.
  • Impaired ability to recollect personal history although most can generally remember their own name.
  • Impaired ability to remember their spouse’s name or caregiver, although most can generally recognize familiar faces from non-familiar faces.
  • Require assistance in getting dressed. Some sufferers will for example, put their shoes on the wrong feet or wear their pajamas over their clothing.
  • Experience disruption to sleep/walking cycles. Some sufferers will wander in the night and become lost, even in their own homes.
  • Require assistance in using the toilet.
  • Suffers increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence.
  • Experiences personality and behavioral changes such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and compulsive or repetitive behavior like tissue shredding for example.

Alzheimer’s Stage 7: Very severe cognitive decline

This is the final stage of Alzheimer’s where the individual concerned will lose the ability to speak, respond to their environment and lose the ability to control body movement.

Symptoms to look out for:

  • Frequent inability to recognize speech and therefore talking becomes impaired.
  • Assistance required for eating and using the toile and frequent incontinence issues.
  • Inability to walk or sit without assistance or support, to smile and to support their own head. Movement also becomes rigid as muscles seize and reflexes slow and swallowing becomes impaired too.

 

 

October 20, 2009

LOCAL LAW NO. 5 OF 2009

COUNTY OF ROCKLAND

STATE OF NEW YORK

 

(Introduced by: Hon. Robert D. Jackson)

(Co-Sponsors: Hon. Edwin J. Day, Hon. Philip Soskin, Hon. Alden H. Wolfe)

Mr. Jackson offered the following Local Law, which was seconded by the Entire Legislature and adopted:

 

A local law establishing a Silver Alert system in Rockland County.

 

Be it enacted by the legislature of the county of Rockland as follows:

 

Section 1. Name of local law

 

This law shall be known as “the Rockland County Silver Alert System.”

 

Section 2. Legislative intent.

 

Seventy percent (70%) of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia patients are cared for at home by family members, in what are often extraordinary and moving acts of love and devotion during the progress of the disease, which on average lasts between five and fifteen years, and is marked by progressive symptoms that over time make the patient completely dependent on their caregivers.

 

A common behavior of this disease that causes great concern for families and caregivers is wandering, and the risk to these vulnerable individuals increases exponentially the longer they remain missing. There have been several recent incidents in which an individual diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other form of dementia has engaged in wandering, and the locality was not equipped with the tools necessary to locate them in a timely manner, with the unfortunate result that these individuals never returned home to their families.

 

A number of states and municipalities as well as the federal government have either developed or are considering a “Silver Alert” System, similar to the Amber Alert System, which allows local law enforcement to disseminate to media outlets vital information about these vulnerable citizens who have wandered from their caretakers, to aid in the search and safe return of these individuals to those responsible for them.

 

In response to concerns raised by Triad (a volunteer group with a focus on senior safety, consisting of three types of agencies - sheriffs, police and senior citizens) regarding persons with cognitive impairments, the Rockland County Legislature, in its ongoing mission to provide essential services to protect its vulnerable population, intends by this law to establish a Silver Alert System. This system will provide rapid dissemination of information regarding missing senior citizens and other individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other cognitive disorders to the public in an effort to expedite the search and safe recovery of those individuals.

 

Section 3. Definitions.

 

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

 

A. COUNTY – The County of Rockland, New York.

 

B. SILVER ALERT SYSTEM – a system that will provide the rapid dissemination of information regarding missing senior citizens and other individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive disorders.

Section 4. Procedures.

A. The County Sheriff’s Department in conjunction with the various town and village police departments shall establish a Silver Alert System, develop guidelines and set up procedures for issuing a Silver Alert, and maintain a database of media, organizations and other outlets to be notified when a senior citizen or other individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive disorder is reported missing.

 

B. The Sheriff’s Department will work jointly with the various town and village police departments within the County and the Alzheimer’s Association National MedicAlert + Safe Return Program to rapidly disseminate information regarding missing senior citizens and other individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive disorders.

 

C. The relevant police department will issue a Silver Alert, unless it is deemed inappropriate due to particular circumstances, each time a senior citizen or other individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive disorders is reported missing to the relevant police department.

 

D. The Silver Alert distributed to the public may contain the following information, if available:
 
1.       the missing individual’s name;
2.       the missing individual’s age;
3.       a physical description of the missing individual, including, if known, a description of the clothing the individual was last seen wearing;
4.       the last location where the missing individual was seen; and
5.       the description of any motor vehicle the missing may be driving, its license plate number and the direction in which it was last seen traveling.

 

Section 5. Severability.

 

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this local law or the application thereof to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, effect or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this law or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.

 

Section 6. Effective date.

 

This local law shall take effect one hundred and twenty (120) days after it is filed with the New York State Secretary of State.

 

SILVER ALERT REGISTRY FORM

 

A Registry form has been created for the Silver Alert Program. It may be used by all Police Departments to enroll/register residents who meet the criteria in the program.  Prior written consent from the individual, parent, guardian, or caregiver will be a prerequisite for enrollment in the program. All residents who are seeking to be enrolled/registered in the program can approach their local Police Departments and fill out the registry form. Each Department should retain a copy of the form for their records. A copy of the completed form along with a recent photo will be forwarded to the Sheriff’s Community Relations Office for inclusion in the central database. This will allow for the rapid creation and publication of a Silver Alert poster should the need arise.  The Silver Alert Registry form can be downloaded, filled out and printed by clicking on the link at the top of the opening page, right below “SILVER ALERT PROTOCOL” heading.