Dementia Family Care

My mother drinks Ensure every morning.

But I call it “coffee.”

Coffee had been part of her morning routine for many years. After dementia caused her to wander around at night, I stopped giving her coffee. So I simply replaced her morning coffee with Ensure.

She may not understand what Ensure is or why I want her to drink it, but she understands coffee. She understands her morning routine. So she is happy to drink it.

Instead of saying,

“Mom, you need to drink this.”

I say,

“Mom, let’s have some coffee.”

We sit together, have our “coffee,” and talk.

I have learned that I do not always need to explain everything to my mother. Sometimes an explanation only makes a simple thing more difficult.

If something unfamiliar is causing resistance, I try connecting it to something that is already familiar to her.

I use the same principle with her medications.

My mother does not like taking medicine. But she had been taking blood pressure medication for many years before she developed dementia, so taking her “blood pressure medicine” is familiar to her.

Now, when it is time for her medications, I simply say,

“Mom, it’s time to take your blood pressure medicine.”

Because this has been part of her routine for so many years, she almost never resists taking it.

A familiar word, a familiar routine, or a familiar habit can sometimes make everyday care much easier.