Yes, if there are changes in memory, thinking, movement or behaviour that are affecting daily function or getting worse, and particularly if you have noticed more than she has. Start with her own doctor, who can screen and refer. Your concern is a more reliable indicator than her own assessment, because people experiencing cognitive change frequently adapt without registering the extent.
Yes, if there are changes in memory, thinking, movement or behaviour that are affecting daily function or getting worse, and particularly if you have noticed more than she has. Start with her own doctor, who can screen and refer. Your concern is a more reliable indicator than her own assessment, because people experiencing cognitive change frequently adapt without registering the extent.
The signals worth acting on are functional rather than a specific number of forgotten things: difficulty managing money or medications, getting lost on familiar routes, struggling with tasks she has done for decades, repeating the same question within minutes, word-finding difficulty beyond the ordinary, or changes in personality and judgement. On the movement side: new tremor, slowness, shuffling, falls, or a noticeable change in handwriting or voice volume.
People experiencing cognitive change frequently adapt around it without registering the extent, and in some conditions loss of insight is part of the illness rather than denial. That makes your concern a more reliable indicator than her own assessment of how she is managing. If you are worried and she is not, that is a reason to pursue it rather than to be reassured, and it is not disloyal to act on it.
Start with her primary care physician rather than going straight to neurology: they can screen for reversible causes including thyroid problems, vitamin B12 deficiency, depression and medication effects, and most insurance plans other than commercial ones require that referral anyway. Ask to attend, and note you can share concerns with the practice separately if she prefers to go alone. Sudden confusion, sudden weakness or a fall with head injury need emergency assessment the same day.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: National Institute on Aging; MedlinePlus: memory; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.