Four signals that a dementia patient needs more care

Full analysis

Cory Fosco, a long-term care professional with 34 years of experience and author of 'The Question of When,' outlines four signal categories families should watch: safety (wandering, stove left on, missed medications, falls), medical (weight loss, declining hygiene, worsening chronic conditions), social and emotional (shrinking world, personality changes), and caregiver health (the caregiver showing the same warning signs). He recommends keeping a written log — even in a phone's notes app — because patterns are hard to spot from memory alone, and suggests asking a relative who visits infrequently whether they notice a change, since outside eyes often catch what daily caregivers miss.