The Early Warning Signs of Dementia Most People Miss — A Complete Guide

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Dementia affects more than 400,000 Australians — and that number is growing. Yet one of the most consistent findings in dementia research is that families almost always look back and recognise signs that were present long before a diagnosis was made. The early signs of dementia are very subtle and may not be immediately obvious. Early symptoms also vary across individual patients — which makes them easy to dismiss as normal ageing, stress, or simply having an off day.

This guide covers the early warning signs of dementia that most people miss — the subtle changes worth paying attention to, how to distinguish them from normal ageing, and what to do if you’re concerned about yourself or someone you love.

Why Early Detection Matters

The earlier dementia is identified, the better the options for treating and managing the condition. Early diagnosis means:

• Access to medications that may slow progression in some types of dementia
• More time to plan — financially, legally, and practically — while the person with dementia can fully participate in those decisions
• Earlier access to support services for both the person with dementia and their family
• The opportunity to participate in clinical trials that may offer access to emerging treatments
• More time to have the important conversations about future care preferences while communication is still possible

45% of all dementia cases are avoidable — meaning that understanding risk factors and making lifestyle changes early genuinely matters. But for those where dementia does develop, early identification gives the best possible foundation for the journey ahead.

The Important Distinction — Normal Ageing vs Early Dementia

Not every memory lapse or moment of confusion is dementia. Everyone forgets things now and then — and some degree of cognitive change is a normal part of ageing.

The key distinction is pattern and progression — not any single incident. The warning signs worth taking seriously are those that are getting worse over time, happening more frequently, or genuinely interfering with daily life.

Normal ageing:

• Occasionally forgetting a name but remembering it later
• Misplacing your keys occasionally
• Forgetting what day it is and then remembering
• Making the occasional error in calculations
• Feeling the need to write things down more than before
• Taking a bit longer to learn something new

Potential early dementia:

• Forgetting recently learned information repeatedly and not recalling it later
• Putting items in unusual places and being unable to retrace steps to find them
• Regularly losing track of dates, seasons, or the passage of time
• Increasing difficulty with familiar tasks involving numbers
• Asking the same questions over and over despite receiving the answer
• Noticeable changes in personality, mood, or behaviour

The Early Warning Signs Worth Knowing

1. Memory Loss That Disrupts Daily Life

The most commonly recognised — and most commonly dismissed — early sign of dementia is memory loss that goes beyond the occasional forgotten name or misplaced item.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest presenting symptom is memory loss. People are not able to function normally because they can’t remember what they should be doing or what they’ve just done. It’s short term memory loss — you might be able to remember very accurately what you did 20 years ago, but you can’t remember what you had for breakfast this morning.

What to watch for:

• Forgetting recently learned information — appointments, conversations, events — and not recalling them later
• Increasingly relying on memory aids — notes, phone reminders, family members — for things that previously required no assistance
• Asking the same question or telling the same story multiple times in the same conversation

The key distinction: Forgetting where you put your keys is normal. Forgetting that you own a car is not.

2. Difficulty with Familiar Tasks

It’s normal to forget how to do something you usually do easily, just for a moment. But it’s an early warning sign if this gets worse or happens more often — having trouble following the steps in preparing a meal, for example.

People in the early stages of dementia often find it increasingly difficult to complete tasks they have performed confidently for decades — cooking a familiar recipe, managing finances, playing a card game they’ve always enjoyed, or operating familiar household appliances.

What to watch for:

• Difficulty following a recipe that was previously easy
• Confusion about steps in a familiar process — making tea, operating the television, paying bills
• Increasing difficulty at work with tasks that were previously routine
• Needing help with things that were previously completely independent

3. Confusion About Time or Place

Early signs may include forgetting recent conversations or events, repeating questions, or becoming confused about time or place.

People with early dementia can lose track of dates, seasons, and the passage of time. They may forget where they are or how they got there — becoming disoriented in familiar places that should require no navigation.

What to watch for:

• Regularly forgetting what day, month, or year it is
• Confusion about how much time has passed — thinking an event was recent when it was months ago, or vice versa
• Having trouble finding their way to familiar places
• Arriving somewhere and being unable to remember why

4. Difficulty with Words — Speaking and Writing

We all have trouble finding the right word sometimes. But a progressive, worsening difficulty with language — particularly finding words, following conversations, or expressing thoughts — is a meaningful early warning sign.

What to watch for:

• Stopping mid-sentence and being unable to continue or find the right word
• Substituting unusual words — calling a watch a “hand clock” or a pen a “writing thing”
• Difficulty following conversations, particularly in environments with multiple simultaneous stimuli — television, radio, other people talking
• Difficulty holding new information in mind — recalling phone numbers or addresses just given, or reporting what was just said
• Repeating themselves because they don’t remember having already said it

5. Misplacing Things — and Being Unable to Retrace Steps

Everyone misplaces things. The distinction with early dementia is not the misplacing itself but the inability to retrace steps to find the item — and sometimes the placement of objects in genuinely unusual or illogical locations.

What to watch for:

• Putting everyday items in unusual places — the remote control in the refrigerator, the keys in the bathroom cabinet
• Being completely unable to retrace steps to find a misplaced item
• Accusing others of stealing or hiding items that have simply been misplaced
• Finding evidence of items being misplaced repeatedly over time

6. Poor Judgment and Decision Making

People with dementia may experience changes in judgment and decision-making that can affect everything from their appearance to their financial wellbeing.

This is one of the earliest and most commonly missed warning signs — because it can look like a lifestyle change, a personality quirk, or simply a bad decision rather than a symptom of cognitive decline.

What to watch for:

• Giving large amounts of money to strangers — telemarketers, door-to-door salespeople, online scams
• Significant changes in personal hygiene or appearance — no longer washing, wearing dirty or inappropriate clothing
• Making financial decisions that are clearly unwise or out of character
• Falling victim to scams that would previously have been immediately recognised as such

7. Withdrawal From Social Life and Activities

People in the early stages of dementia often pull back from hobbies, social commitments, and activities they previously enjoyed — sometimes because they are struggling to keep up, sometimes because they are aware something is wrong and are trying to hide it, and sometimes because the cognitive demands of social situations have become genuinely exhausting.

What to watch for:

• Gradually withdrawing from hobbies, social activities, or regular commitments without a clear explanation
• Becoming increasingly reluctant to try new things or go to unfamiliar places
• Avoiding situations that were previously enjoyable — dinner parties, family gatherings, card games
• Becoming passive — spending increasing amounts of time watching television or sleeping

8. Changes in Mood and Personality

Changes in personality, behaviour, or language usually appear before memory is affected — particularly in some types of dementia like frontotemporal dementia, where personality and behaviour changes can precede memory symptoms by years.

What to watch for:

• Becoming more anxious, suspicious, depressed, or fearful — particularly in situations that are new or unfamiliar
• Dramatic changes in personality — a previously gentle person becoming aggressive, or a previously sociable person becoming withdrawn
• Increased irritability, particularly when a routine is disrupted
• Uncharacteristic behaviour — disinhibition, inappropriate social conduct, loss of empathy

9. Problems with Abstract Thinking

Managing finances, following a complex recipe, playing chess — activities that require abstract thinking and working memory — can become increasingly challenging in early dementia.

What to watch for:

• Significant difficulty managing finances, paying bills, or balancing accounts
• Difficulty following a complex process — a recipe, a board game, a set of instructions
• Problems with planning and organisation that weren’t there before
• Involves planning, decision making, working memory, responding to feedback, error correction, overriding habits and mental flexibility

10. Changes in Spatial Awareness and Vision

Some types of dementia — particularly Lewy body dementia — affect spatial awareness, depth perception, and the ability to judge distances. This can affect driving, navigating stairs, and other activities that require accurate spatial judgement.

What to watch for:

• Difficulty judging distances or spatial relationships — parking, pouring liquids, reaching for objects
• Trouble reading — not related to eyesight, but to processing what is seen
• New difficulty with driving — misjudging distances, difficulty with familiar routes

The Signs That Are Easy to Dismiss — But Shouldn’t Be

Beyond the more commonly known warning signs, several subtler changes are worth paying attention to:

Increased difficulty in noisy or busy environments Increased difficulty in environments with multiple stimuli — TV, radio, conversation — is an early sign that is frequently missed because it’s easy to attribute to hearing difficulties or simply a preference for quiet.

Changes in sleep patterns Daytime napping — either daily naps lasting more than one hour or multiple naps each day — has been identified as an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease specifically.

Changes in eating behaviour Eating rancid food, eating non-food items, significant changes in food preferences, or forgetting to eat are all worth noting.

Gait changes Changes in the way a person walks — becoming shuffling, unsteady, or hesitant — can be an early sign of several types of dementia, particularly Lewy body dementia and vascular dementia.

The Different Types of Dementia — Why the Signs Vary

Dementia is not one condition — it is an umbrella term covering more than 100 conditions that affect the brain in different ways. Understanding the different types helps explain why early warning signs vary so significantly between individuals.

Alzheimer’s disease The most common form — accounting for around 70% of all dementia cases. Characterised by amyloid plaques and tangled fibres in the brain and by a loss of connections between nerve cells. Damage initially appears in the hippocampus, an area involved in memory formation, and gradually spreads. The earliest and most prominent symptom is typically short-term memory loss.

Vascular dementia The second most common type — resulting from damage to the blood vessels supplying the brain. Tends to affect focus, organisation, problem-solving and speed of thinking more noticeably than memory. Often develops following a stroke or series of small strokes.

Lewy body dementia Visual hallucinations — vivid visual hallucinations — are often quite common. People can get quite stiff and look as if they have Parkinson’s disease. Sleep disturbances and fluctuating cognition are also hallmarks of this type.

Frontotemporal dementia Often develops between the ages of 40 and 65 — younger than most other types. Changes in personality, behaviour, or language usually appear before memory is affected.

Young onset dementia Any dementia diagnosed before the age of 65. While less common, it can have a significant impact as many people are still working, raising families, or managing financial responsibilities when symptoms begin.

What to Do If You Notice These Signs

Step 1 — See a GP The first and most important step is a visit to the GP — either with the person you’re concerned about, or on your own for a carer’s consultation if the person is reluctant to seek help.

The GP can conduct initial cognitive screening, order relevant blood tests to rule out other causes of cognitive symptoms, and refer to a specialist — typically a geriatrician, neurologist, or psychiatrist with expertise in dementia — for comprehensive assessment.

Step 2 — Be specific with the GP Rather than general concerns — “she seems forgetful” — bring specific, dated examples of behaviours you’ve observed. “She asked me the same question seven times in one hour on Tuesday” carries significantly more clinical weight than “she’s been a bit forgetful lately.”

Step 3 — Allow time for assessment The diagnosis of dementia should come after discussions about memory and thinking difficulties. Medical practitioners should discuss the possibility of dementia as a diagnosis during the process of assessment, which may take three to six months. Diagnosis is not always immediate — allow time for a thorough assessment rather than expecting answers at the first appointment.

Step 4 — Contact Dementia Australia The National Dementia Helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — providing free, confidential expert information, advice, and support for people with dementia and their families.

National Dementia Helpline: 1800 100 500

Step 5 — Access support early The support available to people with dementia and their carers is significantly better when accessed early. Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 to begin the process of understanding what support is available.

A Word to Family Members

One of the most difficult aspects of early dementia is that the person experiencing it often doesn’t recognise the changes — or actively resists the suggestion that something is wrong. This is not denial in the ordinary sense — in many cases, the brain changes that cause dementia also affect the person’s ability to recognise their own impairment.

As I wrote in what to do when your parent refuses aged care — navigating a loved one’s resistance to assessment and support is one of the most emotionally demanding challenges in family caregiving. Patience, persistence, and professional support are all important parts of the process.

If you are concerned about a family member, trust your instincts. You know this person — you are seeing changes that others may miss. That knowledge is valuable clinical information. Share it with the GP.

Reducing Your Own Risk — What the Research Says

45% of all dementia cases are avoidable — a finding that has significant implications for how we think about brain health across the lifespan.

The evidence-based modifiable risk factors for dementia include:

• Physical inactivity — regular exercise is one of the most consistently protective factors for brain health
• Hypertension — managing blood pressure, particularly in midlife, significantly reduces dementia risk
• Obesity — managing weight reduces vascular risk factors that contribute to dementia
• Smoking — smoking significantly increases dementia risk
• Excessive alcohol — heavy drinking increases dementia risk
• Social isolation — as I wrote in why loneliness is as dangerous as smoking — chronic loneliness is a significant risk factor for cognitive decline
• Hearing loss — untreated hearing loss is one of the largest modifiable risk factors for dementia — get hearing tested and use hearing aids if needed
• Depression — managing depression actively reduces dementia risk
• Head injury — protecting the head from injury matters across the lifespan
• Air pollution — an emerging area of research with growing evidence

The Bottom Line

The early signs of dementia are subtle — and they are easy to dismiss, explain away, or simply not notice until they have been present for some time.

Knowing what to look for, and being willing to act on concern rather than hoping things will improve on their own, genuinely makes a difference — not just to the eventual diagnosis, but to the quality of life in the years that follow it.

If something doesn’t feel right — see a GP. Trust what you’re observing. And know that the earlier you seek answers, the more options are available.

National Dementia Helpline: 1800 100 500 — available 24/7, free and confidential.

Has your family navigated an early dementia diagnosis? Share your experience in The Good Years Club community — your insight could help another family find the courage to seek answers sooner 💙

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