Many of us tend to think that dementia mostly affects short-term memory. It can also affect a person’s mood, personality, behaviour, perception, balance and even spatial awareness. A person with dementia may have to work much harder to perform daily tasks, process what they hear and formulate a response.

A person’s behaviour can be significantly affected. They may say or do things that seem inappropriate or hurtful. It can be very hard to cope with, especially when you’re doing your best to care for that person. But it’s important to remember it’s usually the disease talking.