People with dementia often develop restless behaviours, such as pacing up and down, wandering out of the home and agitated fidgeting. This phase does not usually last for long.
This is known as sundowning and these behaviour changes can become worse after a move or a change in routine. The person with dementia may become more demanding, restless, upset, suspicious, disoriented and even see, hear or believe things that aren't real, especially at night.
People with dementia often carry out the same activity, make the same gesture, or ask the same question repeatedly. Medical professionals sometimes call this 'perseveration'. This repetition may be because the person doesn't remember having done it previously, but it can also be for other reasons, such as boredom.
A person with dementia may experience changes in how they respond to sex, be inappropriate or aggressive, mistake a person for someone else, or behave sexually in public. There are ways to manage challenging behaviour.
A dementia patient may comment on a person's race or ethnicity or even use racial slurs. While we dementia caregivers quickly learn to laugh off an odd statement or redirect repeated questions, these kind of remarks cannot be swept under the rug.
Rambling and long-winded anecdotes could be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease, according to research that suggests subtle changes in speech style occur years before the more serious mental decline takes hold.
Repetition. A person with Alzheimer's may do or say something over and over — like repeating a word, question or activity — or undo something that has just been finished. In most cases, he or she is probably looking for comfort, security and familiarity. Causes.
Someone with Alzheimer's disease may start rummaging or searching through cabinets, drawers, closets, the refrigerator, and other places where things are stored. He or she also may hide items around the house. This behavior can be annoying or even dangerous for the caregiver or family members.
What are some other typical dementia behaviors? In addition to aggression, confusion, sleep problems and wandering, symptoms of dementia can also include delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, apathy and sexual inappropriateness.
Inappropriate sexual behaviour is often associated with frontotemporal dementia.
Alzheimer's disease can cause a person to exhibit unusual and unpredictable behaviour that challenges caregivers, such as severe mood swings, verbal or physical aggression, combativeness, repetition of words, and wandering.
Aggression is one of a number of behaviours – often called 'behaviours that challenge' – that can result from dementia. These behaviours can be just as challenging for the person as for those supporting them. Others include agitation and restlessness, walking about, and being sexually inappropriate.
Alzheimer's patients can experience fluctuating personality changes, becoming extremely confused, suspicious, fearful or dependent on a family member. We all become sad or moody from time to time.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
They may rely on confabulation or “lies” to fill the gaps in their memory, and they may demonstrate childlike behaviors such as emotional outbursts and downright noncompliance with instructions and requests. To caregivers, this behavior may come across as intentionally manipulative, but this is rarely the case.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
It's true that in the early stages of the disease, people with dementia might fib to cover for memory loss. But most examples of “lying” are dementia symptoms rather than intentional deception. “They're more like an unconscious defense mechanism,” says Kallmyer.
Hoarding for a person with dementia may be more likely to happen in the early and middle stages of dementia and often stems from trying to have some control in their lives.
Persons with dementia often will keep putting more food in before the previous bite has been swallowed. “Pocketing” is a common tendency: keeping some food in the cheeks or back of the mouth rather than swallowing fully.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
Conclusion. People with dementia often repeat words or actions, and this is because of problems with short-term memory caused by dementia. Although this can be difficult, we can respond more effectively if we take notice of the feelings and needs behind the repetition.
Many people with dementia spend much of their time alone or, even if they are with others, there may not be much conversation between them. A person with dementia may find it difficult to initiate a conversation or an activity themselves.
What this means is that a person with dementia may not be able to remember what they ate yesterday or a person they met last week, but they may be able to recall memories from their early adulthood or childhood with relative ease.