Alzheimer's can also affect areas of the brain that deal with speech. As a result, patients can experience a range of speech and communication issues that worsen in severity throughout the course of the disease. For instance, the disease can start with forgetting different words. It's getting harder for them to speak with other people. Unable to find the words they wish to use to express their thoughts, also causing the patient to repeat certain words or phrases repeatedly. When talking, they might stammer, unsure of what they would say next.
As Alzheimer's disease progresses, patients start to have trouble getting out words that are easy for everyone to remember. Also, they begin to put forth ever simpler sentences. The fewer nouns patients recognize may stem from an impairment of semantic memory. The simpler sentences may be indicative of an overall drop in cognitive function. Curiously, for most Alzheimer's patients, fluency of speech is retained over the long term. At the end of the speech, for people with Alzheimer's disease, one's output becomes increasingly random. Patients ‘ speech becomes incoherent and, at times, so peculiar as to be startling to listeners. The last stage of the disease is marked by total loss of speech and comprehension because neurodegeneration causes the inability to speak.
