A person with dementia may want to 'go home' because of feelings of anxiety, insecurity, depression or fear. Our dementia advisers are here for you. Is the person with dementia happy or unhappy now? If they are unhappy, it may be possible to discover why.
People with dementia may also appear to be withdrawn because damage to the frontal lobe of the brain can cause a loss of initiative. If this is the case, the person might find it hard to 'get going', but will often respond to gentle prompts and encouragement if someone else takes the lead.
Being given the option to get outdoors is clearly an important part of living well with dementia, so whether it's for social interaction, emotional wellbeing, exercise, fresh air or appreciation of the countryside or green spaces, getting outside is definitely worth encouraging wherever possible.
People with dementia often develop apathy due to damage to the frontal lobes of their brain. This part of the brain controls our motivation, planning and sequencing of tasks. If a person with apathy is withdrawn, stops doing things and loses their confidence and abilities, their apathy can get worse.
Often when a person with dementia asks to go home it refers to the sense of 'home' rather than home itself. 'Home' may represent memories of a time or place that was comfortable and secure and where they felt relaxed and happier. It could also be an indefinable place that may not physically exist.
Some of the more common triggers for dementia like a change in environment, having personal space invaded, or being emotionally overwhelmed may be easier to handle if you mentally practice your response before you react.
Some people with dementia choose to live alone. You may feel happier and more in control in your own home, where you can keep your routines and stay in your community. Keeping your independence may also be important to you. Some people live alone because of their circumstances.
Playing music, having objects to touch and interact with, and hand massage can all help people with dementia in the later stages. Playlist for Life is a music and dementia charity. It promotes how music with personal meaning can help people with dementia. You can find and listen to existing playlists, or make your own.
In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events.
Instead of lying to hurt or manipulate a person, which is bad, these are fibs used to validate, reassure, and comfort someone with memory loss. The first thing to realize is that telling someone with dementia the truth can be cruel and unkind, causing distress and pain rather than helping them.
Receiving a life-changing dementia diagnosis doesn't strip a person of their humanity or personhood. People with dementia think about the same things that any human thinks about — emotions, relationships, daily life, tasks to accomplish, and more.
A person with dementia feels anxious and afraid in their own home, so they look for reassurance that they are not alone. The fear of being alone in an environment they no longer recognize results in extreme anxiety, so they find you, follow you, and may even cling to you for comfort. Be gentle when this occurs.
Clingy dementia, or clinginess is the 4th stage of dementia. When people with dementia or Alzheimer's become clingy it usually indicates that they are experiencing confusion at a level that makes them unable to do many simple tasks when alone.
Most people with dementia continue to live at home as their condition progresses—many through end of life. While this may be the experience of many—every individual and family has different needs and preferences—and home care may not be appropriate or the right choice for everyone.
You and your family may worry about how long you can look after yourself, particularly if you live alone. Everyone experiences dementia differently and the rate at which symptoms become worse varies from person to person. But with the right support when you need it, many people live independently for several years.
other long-term health problems – dementia tends to progress more quickly if the person is living with other conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, particularly if these are not well-managed.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease causes a type of dementia that gets worse unusually fast. More common causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, typically progress more slowly.
In the final stage of the disease, dementia symptoms are severe. Individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, to carry on a conversation and, eventually, to control movement. They may still say words or phrases, but communicating pain becomes difficult.
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.
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.
Ice cream brings people with dementia to happier, warmer times when the treat was shared with friends and loved ones at special, joyous occa- sions. Ice cream has the power to immediately elicit soothing feelings at the very first taste of a single spoon-full.