Brain & Nervous System Alzheimer's Symptoms Word-Finding Difficulties and Alzheimer's Disease By Esther Heerema, MSW facebook twitter linkedin Esther Heerema, MSW, shares practical tips gained from working with hundreds of people whose lives are touched by Alzheimer's disease and other kinds of dementia. Learn about our editorial process Esther Heerema, MSW Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Claudia Chaves, MD on November 30, 2019 Claudia Chaves, MD, is board-certified in cerebrovascular disease and neurology with a subspecialty certification in vascular neurology. Learn about our Medical Review Board Claudia Chaves, MD Updated on December 10, 2019 Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Overview Assessment Causes How to Respond When to Worry If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or related dementia, one of the areas that were probably assessed—in addition to memory, judgment, and general cognitive functioning—is word-finding difficulty. Just as the phrase sounds, word-finding difficulties mean that a person has difficulty choosing or recalling the right word to adequately express a thought. fotografixx / Getty Images Overview Word-finding difficulties are a common symptom of early-stage Alzheimer's, but there are many other possible causes. An assessment by a physician is important if continued difficulties are noted. Word-finding difficulty may also be described as: Tip of the tongue experiencesDifficulty finding the right wordsSpeech fluency problemsDifficulty naming objects Word-finding difficulties may be demonstrated in several different ways. The person may hesitate at length before speaking. When they try, they may use an incorrect word that perhaps starts with the same letters of the desired word ("floor" instead of "flower" or "sack" instead of "sand"), or give a description of what the word means ("You know, the thing on the wall with the numbers and the time"). Assessment There are many formal and informal ways to evaluate word-finding ability. Some practitioners use tests such as the Verbal Fluency Test or the Boston Naming Test. Others may simply note the person's communication abilities throughout a conversation, and ask family members for their observations. You can also expect that a physician may ask: Has the individual previously had difficulties with finding the right words, or is this is a new concern?When do the problems occur?Is the individual is bilingual, and if so, what their primary language is (as this can affect word retrieval)? What is the person's level of education?Are there any other related problems? Causes There are many causes of word-finding difficulty, including stroke, delirium, major depression, anxiety, head injuries, and aging. In dementia, impairment of the semantic memory (the memory for understanding and recognizing words) appears to be a significant contributor to word-finding difficulties. How to Respond If you're certain which word the person with dementia is searching for, go ahead and say it. If you're not sure, don't offer guesses of multiple words, as that has the potential to further frustrate and overwhelm the person. Ask for verbal and non-verbal clarification. If the person says that her "fig" hurts, for example, ask her if her finger hurts, and point to it. Be patient. Rushing the person will almost certainly not facilitate communication, but rather increase anxiety and frustration—and possibly cause the person to exhibit challenging behaviors. When Should You Worry? If you've been noticing some difficulty lately with finding the right words, pay attention to when, and how often, this occurs. Does this happen when you're tired and multi-tasking, or is it truly interfering with your ability to communicate effectively? It can also be helpful to ask a family member or close friend if they've noticed any changes in your word-finding ability. This can help you sort out if you're just not finding the perfect word to describe a specific situation or if you're having trouble on a regular basis. You can also take an online, at-home dementia test called the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam SAGE test. The results of this test should be reported to your doctor. Your doctor can then conduct a thorough exam and test for any reversible causes of word-finding difficulty. Together you can work towards an appropriate diagnosis and treatment if your word-finding ability is related to the early stages of dementia. Keep in mind that some decline in the ability to find the correct word can be considered normal as people age, especially in low-frequency words: those that aren't used as often as others. You may find it helpful to keep your mind active by reading a book from a different genre than usual or spending some time working on a crossword puzzle. Reduce Dementia Risk With Physical Activity Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! When it comes to Alzheimer's, the MIND diet has shown promise in reducing risk and promoting brain health. Sign up for our Alzheimer’s and Dementia Newsletter and get your free recipe guide today. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Pekkala S, Wiener D, Himali JJ, et al. Lexical retrieval in discourse: an early indicator of Alzheimer's dementia. Clin Linguist Phon. 2013;27(12):905–921. doi:10.3109/02699206.2013.815278 Shao Z, Janse E, Visser K, Meyer AS. What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults. 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