Alzheimer's & Dementia

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Comments for "How to Talk to an Elder with Dementia Using Validation Therapy, Redirection & Other Techniques"

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11 Responses to “How to Talk to an Elder with Dementia Using Validation Therapy, Redirection & Other Techniques”
  1. grannipeg Says:

    I was with my 86+ year old mother today while my husband was taking my 88 year old Dad to the Veteran's Hospital today for an appointment. Mama saves a lot of "bad news" for me, said that she can't believe what Daddy has done, that he's moved a black family into the house and she used the "n" word. Said that the little ones were going through all her things. Said she couldn't believe Daddy had done that to her. I said maybe they were homeless, didn't have anywhere to go since the economy was so bad now. She came around and said that yeh, Daddy was always good to people and maybe he was just giving them a place to live for now. And I've learned recently that she's hiding things she thinks have some value in the clothes hamper. It has a lid and she thinks the intruders she's been seeing, "gypsies" and such, can't get in there, so she hides her clean clothes, her cd player, her cd's, in there. And today I discovered her ball of crochet thread and crochet hooks. Mama used to be a master at crochet, made the most beautiful doilies you ever saw, made me and my sister a set of crocheted snowflakes for our Christmas trees. I retrieved the ball of thread and one of her crochet hooks and got her started back to crocheting a basic chain stitch and she was doing pretty well with it. Told her when I see her next, I expect to see a big chain so we can start her crocheting a scarf. I left her smiling today. I have no training on this, just going by gut instinct. My mother is tormented with hallucinations and I'm trying my best to redirect that into something positive.

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