What techniques or tricks do you use to remember forgotten names, titles, words, and concepts?

I've started writing things down in notebooks. Just the act of writing it down helps me remember.

I guess I'm going to have to do that. Writing stuff down helps me remember stuff later on. Had to do that with my own phone number when I got my last new cell phone.

... The older I get, the more slowly do words pop into my brain when I'm trying to remember a word. ...

Other things also affect behavior [dementia patient]. When a person is not feeling well, he will be less able to think...illness, pain, and medication can make a person's thinking -- and behavior -- worse.

When you speak to a person, he must hear you: the first step in the process of communication is sensory input. The ability to repeat immediately what is heard may be retained but the next step, to remember what was said, at least temporarily, is often lost in people with dementia. If the person cannot temporarily recall what you said, he cannot respond. Often a person can recall only part of what was said and will act on only that part...As well as retaining what was heard, the person must comprehend what the words mean and evaluate what was daid. Many things go wrong in this process and may result in a reply that seems inappropriate to you. The person will act on what he thinks he heard. But he can act on only what his ears heard, his brain registered, his mental dictionary understood, and his mind processed. If his brain scrambles the message, he will respond in a way that is appropriate to what he understood...

The final step in communication is the person's answer. Things can go wrong here too. What comes out may not be what the confused person intended. This can sound like an intentional evasion, insult or foolish answer...

When people with dementia say or do things that don't make sense or that seem nasty or deliberate, it is almost certainly the brain damage at work. The person you are caring for is also often miserable and doing the best he can. In the rest of this book we show you how many ways you can help.

...

The success of memory aids depends on the severity of the dementia. A person with a mild dementia may devise reminders for himself, while a severely impaired person will only become more frustrated by his inability to use the aid. Written noted and reminders may help people who have a mild dementia. It is often helpful to put a simple list of the day's activities where the person can easily see it. A regular daily routine is much less confusing than frequent changes.

Leave familiar objects (pictures, magazines, television, radio) in their usual places where the person can see them easily. Some families have found that putting labels on things helps. Labeling drawers, "Mary's socks, Mary's nightgowns" may help.

...

Most individuals with mild cognitive impairment are aware of their difficulties. Many find it beneficial to express their frustrations, but continued focus on their memory problems can make it even harder for them to remember. Encouraging the use of a memory pad as well as avoidance of situations in which pressure to remember is high can help the person function better. The person may try using "to do" lists or making a list of reminder notes. Keeping the person's living area neat helps to avoid losing things. Routines help some people.

Make sure that medical problems are treated as well as possible and that medications that can impair memory are eliminated or minimized. Keeping medications in a weekly pill container reduces the risk of forgetting them or taking a dose twice.

I was actually thinking of going to our family doctor as well, and asking if perhaps my mother should be tested / reviewed by a gerontologist to see how she really is, and if there are any problems that should dealt with.