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OldSailor Asked January 2019

Any strange things your LO does that could be clues to what they might want at that moment?

DW was in rehab recently for help with walking. The first time we went to the dining room and after she was seated she began standing then sitting down. She repeated this move several times. I finally got the message.


She seemed to remember that when you first sit down in a restaurant a food server would appear to help you with your order.


She was attempting to get the attention of one of the aides to get her food. She doesn't talk very much and when she does she has trouble speaking.


This taught me to watch and see what she is doing because there might be hidden message in her actions.


Do you have a story to tell along these lines?


Oh, she is home now and doing very well. Bugging the heck out of me. I love it.

cwillie Jan 2019
There were behavioural support workers at mom's nursing home who were supposedly trained to interpret "dementia" (although some were better at it than others), I think a lot of it is just knowing the person and reasoning out what a word or action may mean. My mom used to call out "turn me over" when she needed something, sometimes it actually meant she wanted to be repositioned but mostly did not - after a year and a half at the nursing home some of the aides still took her words literally🙄
OldSailor Jan 2019
Had that happen early on. DW wanted to go the Fiesta. So I drove there and she raised Cain that it was not where she wanted to go, even though I pointed out the thirty foot sign that said Fiesta. So I drove to a little cafe that we liked and ask if this was the place and she said yes.
That was my first experience with aphasia. From there on it has been a guessing game.
JuliaRose Jan 2019
Mine will roll his shoulders if he wants his back to be scratched.

I try to approach communication as a fun challenge because otherwise it could be very frustrating sometimes!

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GingerMay Jan 2019
Hi Sailor. Glad your wife is home with you now and I hope she is doing well. Hope you are too. My mom has always been quite verbal (ah-hem) and even as her illness progresses, this seems to be one area that remains with her even though at times it is garbled and worse when she is stressed. I watch for what she does with her hands. If she puts her hands on her hip, I know she is feeling pain there. She cannot use the tv remote, but she will point to the tv like she wants to change the channel. I am not her primary caregiver, but I've noticed some people are better at de-coding than others. :)

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