How do I keep my mom with Parkinson's dementia from stuffing her mouth when eating?

Does it help to give very small amounts on appetizer sized plates, and keep refilling the plate?

I don't know. Haven't tried anything specific yet. Although, that was suggested by a nurse. Just thought I'd see if there were any other ideas. Thanks!

I had the same thought. Put just a little food on her plate, enough for a bite, and then refill her plate once she's swallowed the other portion.

I wonder if part of the problem may be difficulty in swallowing, is she perhaps not able to completely swallow what is already in her mouth before she adds more? I've read that it can be helpful to remind them to take a sip of water (or something else) between bites.

My son does the same thing. In the world of the disabled its called "pocketing". In my sons case it is believed to be caused by a need for oral stimulation. He's always been this way and when younger would chew on anything he could get his hands on. Rainman would chew the arms off all his stuffed toys and dolls. For a number of years he had a thing for the Seasame Street character Ernie. Every time he chewed the arms off his stuffed Ernie we'd get him a new one - eventually we started calling the dolls "Amputee Ernie".

But seriously, it can be very dangerous. Rainman once swallowed two tiny toys that perforated his intestines in two spots which lead to near death. I have also had to give him the Heimlich maneuver a number of times.

If Parkinson's effects the nerves - perhaps the cause of your mother pocketing is similar.

I tried a number of things to get Rainman to stop the behavior- including working with physical therapists but nothing really helped. My only solution has been to cut his food into small pieces and to pretty much monitor him while he's eating. The small pieces isn't the perfect solution as if I'm not looking he will stuff as many small pieces in his mouth as he can. And if I'm not watching he will eat at the speed of light. He also tries to be sneaky and hid the fact he's pocketing- he KNOWS he's not supposed to do it but can't seem to help himself. I can never just hand Rainman a whole cookie.

It's a pain in the butt and more often than not dinner time becomes a battle with me constantly having to sternly correct him. But it is what it is - at least for us.

So - I wish you better success with this challenge than I have had. I'll be watching the replies as well. Maybe someone has a success story to tell about correcting this problem.

Parkinson's patients can choke easily--we fed daddy smaller portions on smaller plates. He was content with refills and yes, he filled his mouth too full--I don't know if they are afraid they'll never get to eat again or they lose the "fullness" feeling.
My client had Parkinson's and watching her eat was a challenge in itself. She LOVED a huge hamburger with all the stuff on it--My job was to try and help her not stuff her face/choke/spill all over whilst dabbing at her with a napkin. Lots of spills--hard for her to hold onto anything, and she was so happy to be eating "forbidden foods" she'd almost vacuum them in. I would try to cut it in halves or fourths and she didn't like that.
Trying to "correct her" was pointless. I just got a ton of napkins, kept wet wipes with me all the time and let her "gorge". I was only with her for 2 meals and usually I could control what she was eating and how it was "presented".

The nurse gave you good advice.

Midkid- lol about "afraid they'll never get to eat again". Rainman is especially bad with steak - which he LOVES! I tell him "Rainman, slow the eff down! It's not going anywhere".

Frequently he'll have his dinner finished before I'm half way through my steak. But I guess part of that is me sitting on the edge of my chair - ready to jump up at attempt to squeeze a chunk of meat from 6'1" 180 pounds of confused dead weight!