How Does a Person Living with Dementia Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Interestingly, when we ask people who don ’t have Alzheimer’s to tell us how they would begin a simple task, such as buttoning a shirt, or make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we always, always, get different answers from different people.By Tom and Karen BrennerAlzheimer's Reading RoomWhat if you couldn ’t rememberhow to button your shirt? When you stop and analyze this activity, it can become quite involved. There are many steps to buttoning a shirt.What would the first one be?Touch and Kindness in Dementia CareInterestingly, when we ask peoplewho don ’t have Alzheimer’s to tell us how they would begin a simple task, such as buttoning a shirt, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, load a washing machine, we always, always, get different answers from different people.Everyone has their own way of buttoning a shirt, making a sandwich and loading a washer.For instance, what do you pick up first when you start to make aPB and J sandwich?Visualize this in your mind: is it the bread, the knife, the jar of peanut butter?Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Our point is that even the most simple, mundane, daily task can seem difficult and overwhelming if you can ’t remember how to start, if you no longer know where to begin. This failure to initiate, this inability to begin a task is the pointwhere many people with Alzheimer ’s begin to give up. They don ’t know where to start, so they don’t start.It is our job as caregivers to help them find a ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: care of dementia patients at home dementia care elderly dementia care help alzheimer's help with dementia care Source Type: blogs