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Notes:
Loss of intellect or skill is surprisingly difficult to detect, because we all continually make errors. The first signal is uncharacteristic errors, and what I call intellectual simplification.
Intellectual simplification is simply a description of what we observe as a person's brain begins to decline: complex thinking is exchanged for simpler, more easily grasped and articulated expressions. In speech, phrases are less complex and more stereotyped than we are used to; humor is preserved, but the puns and ironies are less subtle or elegant. Low-frequency words drop from their vocabulary.
The first task is to work with the declining person to gently help them realize the functional implications of their loss and make their own decisions to compensate.
This may result in rejection or unfriendliness; one should work to avoid this, but must be willing to accept it.
Ultimately, sometimes severe measures are necessary. These should be taken in a group if possible.