My father suffers from Frontal Lobe Dementia (according to his neurologist), and he is in the early stages but we are seeing some very peculiar changes. My husband and I live close by and visit him 2-3 times a week, this past Sunday when we arrived he was dressed wrong - he had his undershirt over his polo shirt. I was shocked, my father has always been a very sharp dresser. I also didn't know what to say. I just told him (as kindly as possible) that I thought he had his shirts on wrong. He looked surprised and then acknowledged the mistake and changed. He does live alone and we are wondering if this is a good time to start looking for a caretaker; or at least start talking to him about hiring one. When is the right time to start looking?

Frontal Lobe dementia sometimes follows different pattern behaviors. What takes place in our The Frontal Lobe is our decision, our reasoning, making good judgments, what's right and wrong, our moods and behavior.

What your father demonstrated is very typical of any dementia. With Frontal Lobe dementia most of the time starts earlier than Alzheimer's disease. Getting the undershirt and outside shirt mixed up is very normal. Also you may find your father exhibiting what is called "stacking clothes". They will put on several of the same items at the same time. My husband came down with 5 shirts on and nothing else. But he didn’t have any of the Alzheimer’s type of diseases yet at the same time he was experiencing a form of dementia. Dementia is an umbrella term that many diseases fall under it, but all do not progress or act in the same way.

What you did was appropriate. Just saying, hey Dad, you are having some problems with your shirt let me help you with your shirt and gently help him take it off and put it on correctly. This is going to be very hard for you or anyone because this is not the parent you once knew. This is why it is so devastating to the family.

Personally Ruth, it is time to start seeking some outside up with assistance with him whether it is a caregiver that comes in or you have him come into your home. With having frontal lobe dementia, often they make very poor decisions and can act out aggressively. Aggressive behaviors are very common for this type of dementia. He is now demonstrating difficulty with his activities of daily living and for him to be on his own without supervision, could have some very troublesome outcomes.

Here are some articles to read on this:

http://neurology.health-cares.net/front ... mentia.php
http://www.healthtree.com/articles/deme ... s-disease/

Safety is a big concern with this. How old is your father? Frontal Lobe Dementia cannot be definitely diagnosed until autopsy, but they can diagnose a disease process by symptoms, CT scans or MRI. Although they cannot see the "pick cells" with frontal lobe dementia, there is marked atrophy (shrinking) of the frontal lobe area. The other things associated with this type of dementia are age of onset and behaviors. For his safety, he needs to be monitored more closely.

The right time is now. It allows you to make a better decision without being in a crises mode. Remember, his judgment will be impaired so don't expect him to make good decisions about his care. He will need your strong hand and guidance in this.

If you get the chance, I would like to know more about what he is doing and his age. With any form of dementia is difficult to say what type of dementia they have. Often it will be diagnosed by the symptoms, behavior and progression of the disease. Frontal Lobe Dementia has a more rapid onset and progression then Alzheimer's disease.

Please keep in contact and let me know what else I can maybe help you with.

With kindness,

Linda