WASHINGTON — Alexis McKenzie’s mother had mild dementia, but things sounded OK when she phoned home: Dad was with her, finishing his wife’s sentences as they talked about puttering through the day and a drive to the store.

Then their phone service was cut off. “I mailed that check,” McKenzie’s father insisted. No, he’d mailed the phone company a bank deposit slip instead. McKenzie visited and discovered spoiling food. Dad the caregiver was in trouble, too.

Dementia can sneak up on families. Its sufferers are pretty adept at covering lapses early on, and spouses are sometimes there to compensate. Doctors too frequently are fooled as well. Now specialists are pushing for the first National Alzheimer’s Plan to help overcome this barrier to early detection, urging what’s called dementia-capable primary care, more screenings for warning signs and regular checks of caregivers’ own physical and mental health.

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