Memory & Behavior Problems Checklist

According to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer's disease affects 5.1 million Americans. A form of dementia, Alzheimer's causes memory loss and the decline of cognitive skills like reasoning. Although Alzheimer's primarily strikes people 65 and over, early-onset Alzheimer's can affect people in their 40s or 50s. The Alzheimer's Association provides patients with the disease and their caregivers with a checklist to tag memory and behavior symptoms that may occur during any given week. This assists the doctor in determining the severity of the disease and the best course of treatment for the patient.

Alzheimer's Memory Problem Checklist

• An elderly person's memory loss is one of the first noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Both short and long term memory is affected by this condition. As of November 2010, the association's revised Memory and Behavior Checklist lists 24 behavior and memory problems. Some of the listed symptoms on the Alzheimer's checklist includes memory lapse issues like "forgetting what day it is" and "asking the same question over and over." Misplacing or losing items--keys, medicine, clothing--is another common memory problem suffered by seniors with Alzheimer's.

Verbal Problems

• Behavior problems also contribute to an Alzheimer's patient's condition. Unusual or bothersome verbal behavior makes up a significant portion of the checklist. Elderly patients may talk loudly and rapidly, especially at inappropriate times. Patients can make verbal threats to others. They may say they feel lonely, or remark that they feel like a burden to their family or caregiver. Arguing or complaining, even without any provocation, are other Alzheimer's symptoms.

Depression and Inappropriate Behavior

• The patient may act in a way that is embarrassing to others. They may soil themselves in public, forget to pay for an item at a store while with the caregiver, for example. Depression accounts for other checklist items. The patient may talk about their own death or the death of friends and family members. They may cry often, appear sad, or express hopelessness about the future.

Threats and Disruptive Behavior

• While depression and memory loss form the bulk of Alzheimer issues for most patients, in severe cases, violence or threats of violence occur. The elderly person may threaten to hurt themselves or other people. They may act in ways that could put themselves or others in danger, like driving a car when they have been forbidden to do so. They may destroy furniture or other property. They may wake up their caregiver or family members at night with unusual questions, talking, crying, or yelling.

Checklist Rating System

• Caregivers note how many times the memory or behavior problem has occurred in the prior week. Then they rate their reaction to it on a scale of zero to four to indicate how much the incidents bothered them. Zero means the occurrence didn't bother them at all. Four means that the memory lapse was an extreme problem for the caregiver. The answers are used to assess the patient's condition.