Suggestions to prevent a dementia patient from misplacing things?
The lady I keep has dementia and she has started hiding things! Yesterday we couldn't find her hearing aids! After several hours of looking she remembered that the night before she had packed a bag so she could go home and put them in a big baggie with her underwear. Is there anything that I can do to keep keep this from happening? I asked the family to put her hearing aids in the charger before she goes to bed. The family is struggling with her diagnosis.
Hi @Vickig, it might help if you help her pack a bag to be ready, in case she's ready to go home. You could put some dummy items in them, or when her attention has been diverted after the task, you can replace the items with the dummy items. -Warmly, Donna (team member)
What a wonderful idea! I'll try that.
Let us know how it goes, if you decide to try it! -Warmly, Donna (team member)
Hi @Vickig. I have experienced missing items such as remote control for TV. My husband of course denies even ever using the remote. I helped him look for it, I found it in his room. I then attached it to the leg of cocktail table with an elastic cord and attached a tracker to it in case he figures out how to untie it. Haven't gone "missing" since. Most missing items he claims to be protecting it from being stolen by "imaginary" people. I frequently check room for things...I find tape, nail clippers, pens, a treasure hunt!
This lady hides her wallet in one place and the purse somewhere else. Today we couldn't find her phone and after searching she found it but wouldn't tell me where.. She looked at my phone and said is that what we were looking for?. Over the past month she has really gotten worse.
Have you seen the conversation around Tile, @Vickig? They have all sizes, even stickers. It's by a company called Life360 - I've used them for years to keep track of my kids when they are out of the house, and have a great deal of confidence in their technology. -Warmly, Donna
(team member)
