A distinctive sign of the development of elderly dementia has been identified by the well-known physician and therapist Zhibek Zholdasova.

She writes:

«In the severe stages of dementia, many patients stop speaking, and their vocabulary diminishes at a catastrophic rate. However, for some people, the usual vocabulary transforms into profanity.

Children are often surprised: a parent has never cursed or used foul language before, was very intelligent—where did all this come from?

When I supervised a department, I observed many times that ‘Alzheimer’s’ would consume memory, but if someone in the ward taught a grandmother or grandfather to sing vulgar songs or recite similar verses, it would be remembered almost forever.

Here’s where there is both laughter and sorrow. ‘What did you have for breakfast?’ — a person won’t answer, but singing a song or uttering a seven-story selection of profanity is a breeze.

It’s hard for family members to listen to profanity every day; many take it personally, finding it difficult to accept that this is a manifestation of the illness.