She does that because she thinks they took things from her. ;)
She has dementia.
One day I went to visit mom at the nursing home where she was taking rehab, and she told me a reeeeeeal whopper. The male nurse had taken her for a walk in the woods and tried to get fresh with her. She was incensed. Oh, Lordy.
I found just humoring my mom was the best way to deal with it. "Let's have a look around for it. Huh, I don't see it either. Let's both make sure we don't leave things like that lying around anymore."
It's more respectful and less likely to get an argument than, "Oh, they did not."
Sparkles, this is very common in dementia. The best way to respond is not to argue, but to offer to help her look for it. Sometimes she may have hidden it from herself. If she does this, try to discover where her secret hiding places are so you can retrieve "stolen" items more easily.
It is maddening when they accuse us of taking things. As personal as it feels, it isn't really personal. It is common in the disease. Just let anyone know who is affected to not take it personally. My mother went through this for a very short time. Fortunately, she went through this accusatory stage fairly quickly.
She has dementia.
One day I went to visit mom at the nursing home where she was taking rehab, and she told me a reeeeeeal whopper. The male nurse had taken her for a walk in the woods and tried to get fresh with her. She was incensed. Oh, Lordy.
I found just humoring my mom was the best way to deal with it. "Let's have a look around for it. Huh, I don't see it either. Let's both make sure we don't leave things like that lying around anymore."
It's more respectful and less likely to get an argument than, "Oh, they did not."
It is maddening when they accuse us of taking things. As personal as it feels, it isn't really personal. It is common in the disease. Just let anyone know who is affected to not take it personally. My mother went through this for a very short time. Fortunately, she went through this accusatory stage fairly quickly.