Try: It is sometimes helpful to keep a log or diary to help determine possible causes of repetitive actions remind yourself that crs with dementia do not have the ability to remember because of changes in the brain to you a question story or comment is repetition to the other person it is new

Materials: n/a

Categories: Behavior Challenging, Cognitive Intellectual, Medical Physical

Information: Caregivers often have trouble believing that the person is not purposely repeating questions in order to annoy them this is rarely if ever the case more likely crs are trying unsuccessfully to feel a sense of control over their lives sometimes crs have lost the ability to know how to get attention and may be using questions as an attention getting device if this is so giving them full attention and responding to their emotional needs may sometimes break the cycle of repetition for a while occasionally when people ask the same questions over and over crs are trying to express a feeling such as a fear that they will be abandoned or not fed sometimes responding to the emotion if you can guess what it is correctly rather than to the specific question will help calm some of their anxieties repetitive motions and questions can be one of the most upsetting behaviors for caregivers sometimes you need to be able to walk away and take care of yourself take a bath take a walk do relaxation exercises etc sometimes when a word is repeated over and over it may have a special meaning to the cr family members or close friends may be able to interpret the words or identify a person place or event which the person with dementia is trying to talk about information

References: Mace n & rabins p 1999 the 36-hour day baltimore the johns hopkins university press robinson a spencer b & white l 1992 understanding difficult behaviors ypsilanti mi eastern michigan university

Keywords: Dementia

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed