My mother (80-years-old) has been really struggling with dementia for the last 3yrs. I’ve noticed lately she’s unable to say the names of things (Mt. Dew, Cake) and she thinks all food is coffee cake or cheeseburgers. I could say mom what’d you eat today? Oh, your brother brought me a cheeseburger when I know he didn’t. Does losing words eventually become not talking at all? She has a look of fear/confusion that is so heartbreaking. I can’t focus on the not being able to tell me the name of something sitting right next to her. I just tell her the name of it to which she always responds with, “Yes, Mt. Dew! That’s it.” Where do the words go? I hate dementia but I hate watching her disappear before my eyes even more.
As he began his (our) journey with dementia (diagnosed with Alzheimer's but I think he also had Vascular dementia as well) he talked less and less. I think it could have been that he lost words or he was afraid of making a mistake. But the last about 8 years of his life he was non verbal. He made noises. Almost like a hum or moaning noise. He did laugh on occasion.
When I took him to Adult Day there were residents that did not talk at all, there were some that were verbal.
I think it has more to do with what portion of the brain is most effected by the damage that is done by the dementia.
And I think there is a good possibility that many people with dementia do have mini strokes that are never diagnosed simply because the effects of the mini stroke go unnoticed because of the dementia. If a person without dementia had a mini stroke you might notice a difference in speech or gait but with dementia you may not notice that because the speech and gait are already compromised.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/aphasia/symptoms-causes/syc-20369518
"Treatment
If the brain damage is mild, it's possible to recover language skills without treatment. However, most people undergo speech and language therapy to rehabilitate their language skills and supplement their communication experiences. Researchers are investigating the use of medications, alone or in combination with speech therapy, to help people with aphasia.
Speech and language rehabilitation
Recovery of language skills is usually a slow process. Although most people make significant progress, few people regain full pre-injury communication levels.
Speech and language therapy aims to improve the ability to communicate. The therapy helps by restoring as much language as possible, teaching how to make up for lost language skills and finding other methods of communicating.
Therapy:
Starts early. Some studies have found that therapy is most effective when it begins soon after the brain injury.
Often works in groups. In a group setting, people with aphasia can try out their communication skills in a safe environment. Participants can practice starting conversations, speaking in turn, clearing up confusion and fixing conversations that have completely broken down.
May include use of computers. Using computer-assisted therapy can be especially helpful for relearning verbs and word sounds (phonemes).
Medications
Certain drugs are being studied for the treatment of aphasia. These include drugs that may improve blood flow to the brain, enhance the brain's recovery ability or help replace depleted chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters). Several medications, such as memantine (Namenda), donepezil (Aricept, Adlarity), galantamine (Razadyne ER) and piracetam, have shown promise in small studies. But more research is needed before these treatments can be recommended.
Other treatments
Brain stimulation is being studied for aphasia treatment and may help improve the ability to name things. But no long-term research has been done yet. One treatment is called transcranial magnetic stimulation and another is transcranial direct current stimulation.
These treatments aim to stimulate damaged brain cells. Both are noninvasive. One uses magnetic fields and the other uses a low current through electrodes placed on the head."
Aphasia = loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage.
After a clear diagnosis and full workup by neuro-psych MD I would look up the type of dementia the doctors most believe your mother is suffering from, and what can be done by her state of anxiety.
Some people do become almost completely non-verbal so you are correct. In fact, as an RN I can tell you that many people go back to being curled silently into a fetal position if they live long enough. It is quite sad really to see that full circle.
Be certain to keep a good eye on that urine infection; do dip stick test frequently. They can have a very bad effect on people with dementia.
Online is absolutely full of information for you. In fact you could read all day long and for months and never get all you need to know, so continue to keep reading. Look up "non verbal senior and dementia." You will get a wealth of info.
Marengo is very familiar to me; I spent my girlhood winters on a farm in Woodstock, Il. !
My mom struggles with names of things as well. I've learned to figure out what she's talking about most of the time.
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