| Essential communication skills such as speech, reading | | | | Eventually their whole speech often becomes |
| and writing begin to be lost in one of the most | | | | babbling gibberish, and gradually the Alzheimer |
| upsetting and frustrating aspects of the disease. | | | | sufferer withdraws from talking altogether. |
| While an understanding of simple speech remains | | | | Reading and writing may become affected quite early |
| intact during the early stages, the patient can | | | | in the disease, with spelling difficulties becoming |
| experience growing difficulties in finding and using the | | | | apparent. |
| correct words. | | | | There is also a poor attention span and associated |
| However as the effects of the disease intensify the | | | | lack of interest in the task which is often left |
| patient will have difficultly finishing sentences and will | | | | uncompleted. |
| wander onto another subject and may often repeat | | | | The taking of phone messages can prove particularly |
| the same words over and over again. | | | | difficult and can often be the key that reveals the |
| The ability to find the words needed to complete a | | | | first signs of the dementia. |
| sentence or become involved in a conversation also | | | | The sufferer will have difficulty following the |
| decreases, in other words (paraphrase), are added | | | | conversation and become confused and frightened, |
| into the gaps left, the true meaning of the | | | | making their problem worse. |
| conversation can be lost. | | | | Communication eventually becomes impossible in |
| They will also experience increasing difficulty in | | | | advanced stages of the disease as the sufferer is |
| interpreting complex conversations, proverbs and | | | | usually unable to communicate even their basic needs |
| metaphors and lose the ability to use or understand | | | | to others. |
| complex sentences. | | | | While some patients exhibit some automatic verbal |
| This may mean that questions are left answered | | | | response on occasions, the burden of communication |
| because they are not understood and keeping a | | | | falls more and more on the shoulders of relatives, |
| sentence going often proves too difficult for the | | | | friends and care givers. |
| sufferer. | | | | |