Reading and writing with dementia

People in the early stages of dementia will likely be able to continue to read and write mostly normally, especially if these actions have been common to them in their lives. 

The person may forget some of what they read, or lose touch with what some of the text is about, so may have to re read, but in the main, they will continue without too much hassle.

Reading ability throughout dementia stages

During the mid stages of dementia, again, people may still be able to read ok, but their ability to comprehend what they are reading will start to decline. Comprehension being the ability to remember and understand what the person is reading. It becomes more and more difficult to remember what words mean, and how sentences are constructed as a result. 

People with dementia such as ‘frontotemporal’ dementia may be impacted sooner with reading issues as that type of dementia does impact heavily on a person’s overall language and communication skills. 

In other forms of dementia, as the disease progresses, the person impacted will likely become less interested in reading, although having a few of their favourite books to hand can be a source of comfort for the dementia patient. 

Recent studies in the UK have shown that scientists were able to show that a person’s ability to read based on the NART - national adult reading test had a close correlation on whether they had or were showing early signs of dementia. People who scored poorly had a much higher chance of being diagnosed with dementia.

On the flip side, it has also been shown that people who are active readers throughout their mid and later years are less likely to be impacted by dementia, as it helps to facilitate and maintain cognitive function. 

Writing impairment

As with reading, the ability to write will also be negatively impacted. Shaky handwriting, and the decline in someone’s ability to sign their own name, or their signature becoming indecipherable, is a solid sign that the person has dementia, and maybe in the mid to latter stages. 

The person literally forgets how to perform the motor tasks needed to write. Even though the motor system is intact, the instructions from the brain to the hand do not get through or get jumbled. 

As the person is struggling with overall cognitive function, then the ability to understand words, sentences, spelling, grammar will all be impacted negatively as the disease progresses.