Managing Odd Behaviors

Changes in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease can lead to unusual and unpredictable thinking and behavior. For example, your loved one may become anxious around family members, neighbors, or friends whom he or she may not recognize, or in situations that stray from the normal routine. Your loved one may also become suspicious and suffer from delusions (false ideas that a person firmly believes and strongly maintains in spite of contradictory evidence). He or she may also begin to withdraw from social interaction, wander, become aggressive, and/or become angry and irritable.

Here are a few suggestions to help minimize and manage these unusual behaviors:

• Try to preserve your loved one's abilities, especially those that affect dignity (such as eating and using the toilet) rather than try to teach new skills.
• Try to minimize any changes in the surroundings or to your loved one's daily routine.
• Follow simple routines and avoid situations that require your loved one to make decisions. Having to make choices can be very frustrating and cause anxiety for a person with Alzheimer's disease.

________________________________

Behavior Management Tools








________________________________

Health Management Aids

Reverse Engineering?

An elementary school teacher of mine had to put her husband in a nursing home because his Alzheimer's was too much for her to handle by herself. A few weeks later, she had to bring him home. He had taken apart the window in his room and was subsequently kicked out of the nursing home.

Here are a few suggestions for helping a "mechanically inclined" loved one who has Alzheimer's:

• When trying to understand odd behaviors like this, think about what your loved one liked to do or his or her professional work prior to his or her onset of Alzheimer's. For example, a carpenter is probably more inclined to take things apart than someone who was an avid reader. A devoted housewife is more likely to pace around the house than an avid TV watcher. The likely cause? Boredom.
• Try giving your loved one things to do that relate to their past activities.
• yard work
• housework
• a set of legos
• jigsaw puzzles
• laundry to fold

____________________________

Featured Gift: Cardinal Magnet

Missing An Old Friend or Spouse

If your loved one calls out for or constantly asks for someone from their past:

• Try talking to your loved one about this period in his or her life and respond to the feelings your loved one expresses.
• Avoid harsh facts that may cause anxiety or sadness. If the person your loved one is asking for has died, he or she may not remember this fact and will feel they are hearing it for the first time.
• Try changing the subjest by asking your loved one to play a fun activity or watch a favorite TV show or movie.

_________________________________

17% Off Select Products! Use Code: STPATDAYSALE Ends Tomorrow!