Mom is less able to follow normal conversation. She constantly hums or mumbles. When I try to engage her in pleasant conversation, she rarely exchanges more than shallow bits. Is this just another part of her being lost?
Sounds very normal behavior for a person with dementia. My grandmother mumbled to herself. I tried to make out if some of it was actually words...? But it didn't seem to be words, but more like it was repetitive gibberish. It was definitely a self soothing behavior, for her.
I think you're right about the behaviors being 'self-soothing'. My nephew who had autism did the same thing for a while, just to cope with his environment & his sensory sensitivity.
I'm assuming your mom has Alzheimer's in the advanced stages. The reasoning part of her brain is gone. (They actually loose brain matter. It shows up as empty space in the cranium.)
Even though I have not witnessed my mom doing that, she will sometimes talk to herself when she's disgusted. All of these behaviors are "normal" for dementias. Everyone manifests the disease differently. Sadly, they have left this world and are in their own existence.
Yes! I told my brother yesterday that she gets more and more ensconced in her alternate reality. She gets lost in that tangled maze of pieces of memories. Her humming and fidgeting do seem related. Thank you for the insight.
Most likely the humming is part of the decline. It may soothe her or when she mumbles she may think she is communicating normally. My mom can still carry on a decent conversation if it is simple, but any complications, additions, switching of topic, whatever, she is lost and gets agitated. The fewer things, especially noises, happening around her, the better she feels.
Even though I have not witnessed my mom doing that, she will sometimes talk to herself when she's disgusted. All of these behaviors are "normal" for dementias. Everyone manifests the disease differently. Sadly, they have left this world and are in their own existence.