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When memory starts to slip

For people in the United States who are worried about their own memory, living with dementia, or caring for someone who is. Who answers, at any hour. How ordinary forgetfulness differs from dementia. What dementia is. Seeing a doctor, and why sooner helps. The medicines. Tips if it is you. Anger, suspicion and restlessness. Safety at home, and driving. Money and the papers to get in order. Finding help with care, and who pays. Looking after the person who gives the care. And the words to say when you call. No memory test and no score. One thing at a time.

This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The facts come from pages read on October 2, 2026: the U.S. National Institute on Aging (What Is Dementia? Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis, reviewed December 2022; Memory Problems, Forgetfulness, and Aging, reviewed November 2023; What Is Mild Cognitive Impairment?, reviewed April 2021; How Is Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosed?, reviewed December 2022; How Is Alzheimer’s Disease Treated?; Managing Personality and Behavior Changes, Home Safety Tips, Driving Safety and Alzheimer’s Disease, Caring for Yourself and Getting Help With Alzheimer’s Caregiving, each reviewed in 2024; Managing Money Problems for People With Dementia, reviewed October 2023; and its page about the ADEAR Center); Alzheimers.gov (Tips for People With Dementia, Planning After a Dementia Diagnosis, and Finding Dementia Care and Local Services, each last updated January 2026); the Alzheimer’s Association’s page about its 24/7 Helpline; and the home page of the Eldercare Locator. The lines about 988 and Crisis Text Line were read on October 1, 2026 for our other pages. The Alzheimer’s Association and Crisis Text Line are private organisations describing their own services. We did not call or text any line, contact any provider, search any directory or check any service. Much of what the Institute writes is about Alzheimer’s disease; other kinds of dementia can differ, and we did not read its pages on Lewy body, frontotemporal or vascular dementia. We also did not read its pages on communication, agitation and sundowning, wandering, hallucinations, living alone, long-term care, the last stages, advance care planning or paying for care; the Food and Drug Administration’s pages or any medicine’s label; Medicare’s or Medicaid’s own pages; or any state’s law on powers of attorney, guardianship or driving. Where the page links to one of these, it says we did not read it. The page has no memory test and gives no score, on purpose: a list of signs is not a diagnosis. Lines marked “Ours” are our own suggestions. This page saves nothing: no account, no cookies, nothing you tick is stored or sent, and no analytics (privacy). Scarlet Beast is not a care provider or a government agency, and takes no money from anyone named here. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].