Re: People with Alzheimer's not realizing their own condition - Not necessarily. Early on, they realize, when they can't find their car keys again, or get lost on the way to a familiar place, and that scares them, or relatives get annoyed with them for asking the same question over and over, and that makes them embarrassed. They DO know, and it's tragic and terrigying. They're probably BETTER off in the final stages, when they are REALLY out of it.