Dealing with Alzheimer’s
I was reading this Captain Awkward post about an elderly neighbor yesterday, which ends up talking about people with dementia a lot in the comments.
And there was one really interesting comment:
I think deflective but honest is a great way to treat someone with diminishing faculties with the dignity they deserve. There’s an interesting segment on the This American Life episode “Magic Words” where a husband and wife who are actors use their improv experience to deal with the wife’s mother’s accelerating Alzheimer’s. As improv teachers, they decided to stop lying to their mom, or correcting her “mistakes” (“You ARE home Mom, this is your home”, “You just HAD ice cream, Mom”, and other battles folks are probably very familiar with if they had/ve a parent with dementia), and just go with the flow. If she hallucinated monkeys out in the front yard, they said tell us about the monkeys, or maybe we should keep one as a pet? like it was a game-and she would come to understand it as playful banter, and no longer feel confused, angry, or in combat with others about her reality. It is seriously touching, and really interesting to listen to.
So I tracked down the transcript (because I absorb things better through reading than listening), and it’s a pretty interesting episode. The first part was laugh out loud funny. And the second part was the story the Captain Awkward commenter had mentioned. About playing the “yes and” improve game and stepping into someone else's world.
This American Life - Transcript
This American Life - Radio/Audio Download
Since I know people who are dealing with family members with dementia, I thought I'd share it here.
And there was one really interesting comment:
I think deflective but honest is a great way to treat someone with diminishing faculties with the dignity they deserve. There’s an interesting segment on the This American Life episode “Magic Words” where a husband and wife who are actors use their improv experience to deal with the wife’s mother’s accelerating Alzheimer’s. As improv teachers, they decided to stop lying to their mom, or correcting her “mistakes” (“You ARE home Mom, this is your home”, “You just HAD ice cream, Mom”, and other battles folks are probably very familiar with if they had/ve a parent with dementia), and just go with the flow. If she hallucinated monkeys out in the front yard, they said tell us about the monkeys, or maybe we should keep one as a pet? like it was a game-and she would come to understand it as playful banter, and no longer feel confused, angry, or in combat with others about her reality. It is seriously touching, and really interesting to listen to.
So I tracked down the transcript (because I absorb things better through reading than listening), and it’s a pretty interesting episode. The first part was laugh out loud funny. And the second part was the story the Captain Awkward commenter had mentioned. About playing the “yes and” improve game and stepping into someone else's world.
This American Life - Transcript
This American Life - Radio/Audio Download
Since I know people who are dealing with family members with dementia, I thought I'd share it here.