Lately when I leave home, my LO will call saying he wondered what happened to me. Sometimes he will call several times over the course of a few hours. This is new. I recognize he's probably just feeling anxious but I'm curious if this is common and if it's a sign he should not be left. I also wonder what might be next. It seems like things change often and there's always new things popping up. Another recent new thing was putting dirty dishes into the cupboard. It's tough seeing my LO change before my eyes.
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/an-excellent-resource-for-learning-about-alzheimers-disease-dementia-472696.htm
I learned a lot and you may too.
All the best.
Short term memory problems. When did you leave? Where to? When will you be back?
The ability to 'tell the time' can be lost. Eg you say "back at 4pm" but what's that mean if you can't FEEL the current time, can't measure the time passing & cannot feel when 4pm will be.
My Mother can read the time on a clock & manages to fool people she can 'tell the time'. But when Dad is out asks repetitively what time is it? When will he be back? She can see & read the clock - but not sure she can process it.
It believe it then heads to 'shadowing' behaviour - where anxiety drives constant following of the main carer. This becomes very challenging & suffocating. Having regular sitters so you can leave then becomes necessary.
Yes, the one thing you can count on is change. and with dementia, that change involves decline. sadly, it doesn’t get better.
Caregivers often have a benchmark where they feel they have to make different arrangements. A sitter, going to adult day care, installing cameras, facility care. Sometimes the change is significant and we feel we should have taken more protective action sooner. That’s the problem, one never knows what’s next. In that way very much like a small child left on their own.
What would happen if there was a fire? Would he know to get himself out of the home?