Different Stages and Types of Dementia

Abstract

Dementia is a progressive disorder, and the key term here is ‘progressive’. In other words, a person with dementia will go through a gradual process in which they may display signs and symptoms over a number of years that reflect the different stages of dementia: mild, moderate and severe. Although authors differ in relation to the different stages a person may experience, there is a consensus of opinion in that no two people with dementia are the same. An awareness of the different stages enables staff to appreciate what the person is experiencing, and therefore, identify ways in which they can focus and maximise the individual strengths of the person with dementia. This chapter examines the different stages of dementia with a key focus on promoting and maintaining personhood and to see the first or not the disease.