Do all dementia patients fold things?

My mom does the same thing. She just always needs to be doing something with her hands. I think when the brain can't stay engaged they need something to keep them busy. Since your Mother is bed ridden, she has nothing to do. When my mother was in the hospital, we put a couple stuffed animals on her bed and she would hold them or pet them. We also took a few hand towels and wash rags and layed them on top of her. She just kept folding them and then we would spread them out again so she could start over. Telling her stories seemed to help a little.

I remember my mother talking about giving my grandmother, who had dementia, a basket of washcloths to fold. It brought her some measure of peace to fold. I don't think we'll know why this is for sure, but I can see the familiarity of a repetitive activity long imbedded in memory bringing some comfort to a person living in constant confusion.

I've been thinking about this question...it got me thinking about repetive behavior in people with autism - maybe there's a similar reason, maybe not. With autism the repetive behavior can be about comfort. It has to do with reassurance, expectations and control. These individuals often have very little control over their own behaviors and lives (familiar?). They CAN control the object i.e. it will fold the same way every time. The outcome is predictable and thus reassuring. Often individuals with autism will watch the same movies over and over - they know what comes next, it is again predictable, reassuring thus comforting in their unpredictable world.

A fidget pillow is made so that there hands are busy, my Mom's has fur, buttons, a zipper and a few other things. Google it and you will have a better idea. I bought hers on Etsey and so far she seems to like it,

I think with Dementia patients, the changes in the brain not only cause confusion, but aggitation. The need to move the hands usually results in repetitive motion. Folding keeps the hands busy. My dad folded paper towels fir awhile. He would pull a piece off of the roll, wipe his mouth and fold it before he threw it in the trash. Then he would click his nail. Over and over. Now he pulls his pants up constantly. He's been fresh to some other residents at his AL so he was put on a mild anti-depressant. It's made a world of difference. In the long run, don't even try to get in their heads to wonder why they do something, you can't. It's just the dysfunction in their brains.

Hopefully this doesn't sound demeaning...my son has sever autism and gets obsessed in doing repetive behaviors. An above post made me think of something that worked for him for a while. It's a doll - Dapper Dan or Dressy Betsey. These dolls are permently dressed in cloths that have buttons, zippers and ties. Little Rainman would work his Dapper Dan for hours at a time. It kept him busy and re enforced self-help skills - also helped to develop his fine motor skills. Just an idea...

My mother likes to fold tissues into perfect squares. At first, this strange, repetitive behavior annoyed me. But now I feel that if it keeps her occupied, reduces her anxiety and is safe, I let her fold to her heart's content.

Not folding, but wringing her hands and twirling her ring.

We used to keep 2 baskets of clean towels of all sizes handy for my grandmother to fold. Two, because she would recognize the same towels if she folded them twice in a row, so we mixed them up. It seemed to keep her mind and hands occupied for long periods of time after she began not being able to focus on reading or tv or conversations. And it gave her a sense of contributing.

My Mother in law folds napkins & toilet paper into tiny little squares & stuffs them everywhere. My husband goes in her room & empties them & can fill a plastic grocery bag full. He has go through each one though because sometimes she wraps her belongings in them. He has found her dentures, jewelry & money among them. My Dad had AlZ & did this too.