My mother says that people on TV are talking to her. Should we tell her that no one is actually talking to her or go along with it?

Your mom sounds like mine! She is 82 and has dementia among many other things. She talks to people when no one is in the room. She thinks she has young children that she needs to register for school and get on the bus. Sometimes I can tell her that she's confused and she accepts what I say. But if she is really agitated, i go along with her and then quickly get her on another subject. How to deal with this depends on their level of agitation. Try explaining that the people on TV are not talking to her. If this doesn't work, either change the subject or ignore her. You definitely don't want to scare her or get her over agitated. Hallucinations are very common and each situation has to be handled individually. Hope this helps!

What you say Deefer, you mean all those times I talk back to the T.V. they're not talking to me, bite your tongue :)

My mom used to do that. She would either talk to them or get scared and want to leave. Sometimes I just changed channels or turned it down . If I told her it was the tv she did not beleive me she thought the people were in the house or the tv was a window or door and they were looking at her. Not sure what to tell you. I wanted to watch tv so I kind of put up with it and tried to get her mind off it. Which was not easy.

I think there are times when the message on TV is taken to heart by all of us... OR they wouldn't be advertising all of those products we have to have.

I would go along with it, ask what they said to her and how that made her feel.

It is less frustrating to play along than trying to explain to her that the people are in the TV(box)??? wait a minute how would you explain that... they look real to me and they are looking at me... life is too short to put everything under the magnifying glass.

Mom only once was puzzled about what was on TV with a "how did they get here?" comment. Your mom might benefit from an anti-anxiety drug. Mom was Rx'd Ativan, very low dose, and that stops the delusional cycles from even starting. Seroquel was a disaster for her, and cannot recommend it.

My mom has a 60% hearing loss and can't hear what they say. She sees their mouths moving and thinks they are talking to her. We had a Boise radio on the shelf under the TV which we never turned on. She thought 'people' were talking to her from the radio. She would stand in the hallway and talk to people. I don't know what this is called. I thought dementia was when they couldn't remember things. She does forget a lot of things but she has been hearing people talk to her for about 4 years now. The primary care doc calls it audio halluciations. But I'd like to know what causes it and if there is any meds to help her. All he put her on in Risperdal.

My mother doesn't think the TV talks to her (maybe she understands the concept) but she loves to talk to herself in the mirror...At first I tried to explain but it only confused her more and more confusion was not a good thing. I've learned to go with her flow unless it's dangerous, unhealthy or damages property. I've watched my mother's AD journey from early to now moderate/severe. It's been 12 years. A lot of frustration comes with caregiving, but many rewards. Pray, meditate or whatever it takes to give you strength and patience.

All the conventional wisdom I've heard or read on this topic says do not try to argue or convince, go along with it and divert attention to something else as soon as possible. For example, the tv is talking to her, say "really - did they tell you what a nice day it is outside? Do you want to go for a walk?" or something to that effect...

Such good advice. I have learned that you can't convince them otherwise. They will argue with you for sure. So it is best to divert them to something else. Wow, what we learn along the way. Thanks.

I am not understanding why there is a problem when talking back to the T.V. If they are not hurting anyone, or indangering themselves or anyone else why is there a problem. Maybe it's just me but there are so many other problems to worry about I just can't see adding this to the load.