I agree with Cwillie. When we look at the stages, we have to keep in mind that they are actually supposed to apply to Alzheimers patients and not those with other types of dementia, like Vascular or Lewy Bodies. But, even though, my LO has Vascular, she has still followed a progression, but, not exactly like the charts. I think few people do.
My LO had the Babinski reflex early on, that is in Stage 7. And has been double incontinent for a long time too. She also had much poorer balance than most people with early dementia. She lost the ability to walk rather early too. Very little memory is left, can do nothing for herself any longer, but, she can still say more than 6 intelligible words and she still can chew and swallow. She has also started leaning and not having a lot of success in holding herself up. But, she is clearly in Stage 7.
Since I've had my mother in the nursing home I've been able to observe the people around her to get a better understanding of where she is in terms of end of life. You also need to remember that different types of dementia, especially when coupled with other health problems, don't always follow a typical pattern and posted charts and lists can cause caregivers to make wrong assumptions. Those in my mom's category - I'll call it 7a - rarely talk, need to be fed all or most of the time, will only sometimes respond to questions and often not verbally, are of course completely dependent for all ADLs, have brief wakeful periods but sleep most of the time (or perhaps rest with closed eyes), rarely move their arms and legs. From my observations those farther along - 7b - can not sit up at all and are always partially reclined in their chairs when not in bed, never open their eyes, never move on their own, will swallow food placed in their mouths but do not open their mouths to eat, make no kind of response when spoken to, are largely silent except for involuntary vocalizations.
Oh, I see. Can you click on your Username here? You will see a message that I posted to you. If you highlight that link and COPY it, you can then Paste it on your browser and press Enter. If that doesn't work, just google a term like, Understanding Seven clinical stages of alzheimers substages.
One of those things in stage 7 is a positive Babinski reflex, but, my LO had that early on. I witnessed it in the Neurologist office and was blown away. I knew enough to know that it was not good. This was in the first months of my LO's diagnosis over 3 years ago! Of course, hers was not AD, but, Vascular Dementia.
I think the stages often overlap. You may have some characteristics of several. And I think there is a rule that applies, about which one to look at, but, I'm not sure how helpful that is. Does the person have a doctor who has diagnosed and is treating? I might discuss it with them. And read a lot on line. Also, there are lots of helpful posts on this site.
I have also read that Stage 7 can be broken down into substages. I'm sending you a PM with that link, since, we are not allowed to post links on the thread.
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My LO had the Babinski reflex early on, that is in Stage 7. And has been double incontinent for a long time too. She also had much poorer balance than most people with early dementia. She lost the ability to walk rather early too. Very little memory is left, can do nothing for herself any longer, but, she can still say more than 6 intelligible words and she still can chew and swallow. She has also started leaning and not having a lot of success in holding herself up. But, she is clearly in Stage 7.
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Those in my mom's category - I'll call it 7a - rarely talk, need to be fed all or most of the time, will only sometimes respond to questions and often not verbally, are of course completely dependent for all ADLs, have brief wakeful periods but sleep most of the time (or perhaps rest with closed eyes), rarely move their arms and legs. From my observations those farther along - 7b - can not sit up at all and are always partially reclined in their chairs when not in bed, never open their eyes, never move on their own, will swallow food placed in their mouths but do not open their mouths to eat, make no kind of response when spoken to, are largely silent except for involuntary vocalizations.
One of those things in stage 7 is a positive Babinski reflex, but, my LO had that early on. I witnessed it in the Neurologist office and was blown away. I knew enough to know that it was not good. This was in the first months of my LO's diagnosis over 3 years ago! Of course, hers was not AD, but, Vascular Dementia.
I have also read that Stage 7 can be broken down into substages. I'm sending you a PM with that link, since, we are not allowed to post links on the thread.