Language changes are early signs of Alzheimer’s – here are five things to look out for

Ten million people are diagnosed with dementia worldwide each year – that’s more than ever. According to the Alzheimer’s Society approximately one million people in the UK are currently living with the disease. Studies predict this figure will rise to 1.6 million people by 2050.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and leads to a decline in memory and thinking skills. This is a physical illness that causes the brain to stop working properly and gets worse over time. Identifying the onset of Alzheimer’s early can help patients and caregivers find the right support and medical care.

One way to detect Alzheimer’s early is by spotting changes to people’s use of language. This is because new speech problems are one of the first signs of a mental decline that could indicate the onset of this disease.

Here are five early, speech-related signs of Alzheimer’s disease to look out for:

1. Pauses, hesitations and vagueness

One of the most recognisable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is trouble remembering specific words, which can often lead to frequent or long pauses and hesitations. When a person with Alzheimer’s is struggling to remember a word, they may talk vaguely such as saying “thing”, or describing and talking around a word. For example, if someone is having trouble remembering the word dog, they may say something like “people have them as pets … they...

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