3 Ways to End the Dementia Care Blame Game

Are persons afflicted with dementia inherently mean?The answer is no, and studies prove it.What can you do?1.Look for patterns of bad behavior, and when they are happening.2.Establish a dailyroutine.3.Introduce activities into your day thatkeep dementia patients occupied.The Alzheimer's Caregiver Blame GameBy Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:1. Identify the Patterns of BehaviorOne of the most effective things I did as a caregiver isstart keeping track (writing down) thenegative episodes that my mother would perform each day.I started to realize that many of these difficult behaviors happened around the same time each day.For example, my mother would get up around 9:37 PM,get all agitated, and say she had to clean our home. She did not do this at any other time during the day.How did I solve this problem?Ice Cream.Around 9:15 I would start moving my mother to our kitchen. I would get her settled in, give her a smile, and engage her in some conversation. Around 9:30 PM I would ask, would you like some ice cream. The answer was always the same.She loved ice cream.How to Use Ice Cream as a Memory Care ToolA little conversation, a few smiles, and a dose of ice cream solved the problem. It went away and never came back.I would use a similar tactic when my mother would get thatdull, mean, I'm not here look on her faceduring the day. I used potato chips to solve that problem.Alzheimer's symptomsLook for patterns of bad behavior and fin...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers alzheimers caregiving blame care of dementia patients dementia activities dementia blame dementia care dementia help for caregivers dementia routine help alzheimer's memory care Source Type: blogs