Photo by Karin Elton Jaen Weilage holds up a magazine, which featured the human brain. She told participants in a Business During Hours event about the symptoms of dementia Thursday at the Marshall Area YMCA.

MARSHALL — The invitation to the Business During Hours event Thursday at the Marshall Area YMCA urged attendees to wear purple in recognition of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, which is November.

Jaen Weilage, a volunteer with ACE (Advocating, Connecting, and Educating) spoke about Dementia Friends, a global dementia awareness organization based in the United Kingdom, which has spread to the United States.

“Minnesota was the first state to offer Dementia Friends, “ she said.

Dementia Friends Minnesota is an ACT on Alzheimer’s initiative.

Attendees learned that “dementia is not a specific disease,” said Weilage. “It’s an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.”

Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent — “60 to 80 percent of dementia patients have it,” said Weilage — but there are other kinds of memory loss such as Lewy Bodies, Frontotemporal and Vascular.

Dementia used to be called “senile dementia,” which reflected that it was perceived as a normal part of aging, she said.

“Dementia is not a normal part of aging,” said Weilage.

She said everyone has events when they forget a word or name or forget why they came into a room.

“A lot of that is normal,” she said. “There are a lot of things going on. If you give yourself a little time a lot of what you are searching for will come back to you.”

Signs and symptoms of dementia are when memory loss disrupts daily life. She said a child may notice it in a parent over the holidays.

“What is this in the refrigerator or the parent can’t do a family recipe anymore,” she said.

Other symptoms are challenges in planning or solving problems. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure.

“People with Ahlzeimer’s make find it hard to complete a daily task,” Weilage said.

Confusion with time or place. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. New problems with words in speaking or writing — “they may call a watch a ‘hand clock.’ They know enough to kind of make up for not knowing the word,” she said.

Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

“They may accuse others of stealing,” she said. “They might pour milk into the coffeemaker instead of water.”

Another symptom is decreased or poor judgment.

“For example they might use poor judgment in giving numbers out that they shouldn’t,” Weilage said. “Often they don’t pay as much attention to personal grooming.”

Withdrawal from work or social activities is another symptom.

“They may have trouble keeping up with a favorite team that they used to follow,” she said.

Another symptom is changes in mood and personality.

“They might be confused, suspicious, fearful, anxious,” she said. “It’s hard for them to be out of their comfort zone.”

People with dementia should be treated with “dignity and respect,” said Weilage. “Don’t talk as if the person wasn’t there.”

Other tips in interacting with people with the disease include approaching them from the front, identifying yourself, speak in short, simple phrases, speak slowly and clearly and patiently wait for the answer.

Visit www.actonalz.org/dementia-friends to learn more.