Frontotemporal dementia usually causes changes in behaviour or language problems at first.

These come on gradually and get worse slowly over time.

Eventually, most people will experience problems in both of these areas. Some people also develop physical problems and difficulties with their mental abilities.

Behaviour and personality changes

Many people with frontotemporal dementia develop a number of unusual behaviours they’re not aware of.

These can include:

being insensitive or rude

acting impulsively or rashly

loss of inhibitions

seeming subdued

losing interest in people and things

losing drive and motivation

inability to empathise with others, seeming cold and selfish

repetitive behaviours, such as humming, hand-rubbing and foot-tapping, or routines such as walking exactly the same route repetitively

overeating, a change in food preferences, such as suddenly liking sweet foods, and poor table manners

neglecting personal hygiene

As the condition progresses, people with frontotemporal dementia may become socially isolated and withdrawn.

Language problems

Some people experience problems with speech and language, including:

using words incorrectly – for example, calling a sheep a dog

loss of vocabulary

repeating a limited number of phrases

forgetting the meaning of common words

slow, hesitant speech

difficulty making the right sounds to say words

getting words in the wrong order

automatically repeating things other people have said

Some people gradually lose the ability to speak, and can eventually become completely mute.

Problems with mental abilities

Problems with thinking don’t tend to occur in the early stages of frontotemporal dementia, but these often develop as the condition progresses.

These can include:

difficulty working things out and needing to be told what to do

poor planning, judgement and organisation

becoming easily distracted

thinking in a rigid and inflexible way

losing the ability to understand abstract ideas

difficulty recognising familiar people or objects

memory difficulties, although this isn’t common early on

Physical problems

In the later stages, some people with frontotemporal dementia develop physical problems and difficulties with movement.

These can include:

slow, stiff movements, similar to Parkinson’s disease

difficulty swallowing

loss of bladder control

loss of bowel control

Some people have frontotemporal dementia overlapping with other neurological (nerve and brain) problems, including:

motor neurone disease – causes increasing weakness, usually with muscle wasting

corticobasal degeneration – causes problems controlling limbs, loss of balance and co-ordination, slowness and reduced mobility

progressive supranuclear palsy – causes problems with balance, movement, eye movements and swallowing

Getting medical advice

See your GP if you think you have early symptoms of dementia. If you’re worried about someone else, encourage them to make an appointment with their GP and perhaps suggest you go with them.

Your GP can do some simple checks to try to find out the cause of your symptoms, and may refer you to a specialist for further tests.

It’s usually very helpful to have someone at the consultation who knows you well and can give the specialist another perspective on your symptoms.