Star of the hit series 22 Kids and Counting Sue Radford revealed some devastating news in the latest episode of the Channel 5 show.
The mum-of-22 was notably quiet during last night’s episode. Her husband, Noel, became increasingly worried and his concerns hit all new heights when he found a leaflet about early dementia in their family van. Sue then shared that one of her friends had been diagnosed at a young age.
Addressing the camera, Sue said: “Gradually her memory will get worse, it’s a reality check, it could happen to anyone and you never know what’s around the corner.” She added that the news had “knocked her for six.”
Dementia is most common in people aged 65 and over, but it can also appear in younger people. Young onset dementia makes up about 7.5% of all cases in the UK, according to Dementia UK, and affects 70,800 people across the country.
Now, a woman whose mother started showing Alzheimer’s symptoms in her 40s has revealed the signs she observed. “If you have a loved one that is struggling with memory issues, please listen up,” she urged in a video posted on the Love Your Grief TikTok page.
“I’m going to be telling you five things that you should be watching for in your loved one that’s having memory issues.”
Struggling with familiar tasks
Love Your Grief highlighted that a new inability to complete “familiar tasks” can be an indicator of young onset dementia. These can include any chore your loved one would typically do “on a daily basis,” including work tasks, cleaning or preparing meals.
“They [sufferers] have a very hard time doing [these tasks],” Love Your Grief noted.
Social withdrawal
Love Your Grief added: If you feel like they are a big extrovert, they will suddenly start to feel like more of an introvert.”
The TikToker said her mum became “very overwhelmed by big groups” and “big events” prior to her diagnosis.
Difficulty with communication
Communication issues were another warning sign mentioned by Love Your Grief. “You won’t be able to have a conversation with them because their sentences will start to become very scrambled and they will have a hard time following conversations with you as well,” she explained.
While the NHS lists “struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word” as a symptom of dementia, this alone does not necessarily indicate that somebody has the disease
Confusion with place and time
Love Your Grief explained that a loved one may struggle to identify the current year or season as well as places they might usually recognise. “They will often not be able to tell you how to get home on normal paths that you have always done,” she said.
“My mum would just go to the gym at random times and she would be upset that my dad wasn’t there. That’s because she didn’t understand the concept of time.”
Mood changes
Lastly, Love Your Grief discussed personality and mood changes as potential indicators to watch for. “A big thing that is important to watch for is [a] change in personality. They may become more moody, they may become more depressed.
“They [may] seclude themselves from social situations and not want to be around the people that they normally do. They often become very irritable and agitated with the people around them like nothing you have seen before.”
The NHS outlines that dementia symptoms include confusion about time and place, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, struggling with familiar daily tasks, finding it hard to follow a conversation or find the right word, and mood changes. These symptoms are consistent in individuals with early onset dementia and those who develop dementia after 65.