What to Do When Someone with Dementia says "I Want to Go Home" (The BIG Mistake You're Making)

Download 2 FREE dementia cheatsheets at this link: https://dementiasuccesspath.com/yt-cs

1- Activities Ideas
2- What to say/do for specific Challenging Behaviors

Thanks for watching! In this video, you'll learn when your loved one or client says "I want to go home", they don't mean the physical place. That is why even if you got fed up enough to take them to the physical place that they would turn to you and say this isn't home, I want to go home.

The BIG mistake most people make is that they respond by saying, you are home or this is your new home if they are in assisted living or memory care. What your loved one or client is actually trying to tell you when they say I want to go home is that they want the feelings of comfort, safety and familiarity that home represents.

Comfort

Comfort means physical (bathroom, sleep,food) or emotional (missing a loved one, a comfort item)
Asking what is at home will help you figure out if they are trying to tell you what they need in that moment. If they are missing a loved one, ask them about how they feel. Often times, our folks just need to get some feelings off their chest to feel better like the rest of us.

Safety

Safety means that they feel unsafe or threatened where they are and want the feeling of safety that home provides. Again, asking for what they need at home will help you figure out. If something is making them feel unsafe

Familiarity

Familiarity means that they are looking for the specific people, places and things that they believe should be there since the world has suddenly turned unfamiliar. What is familiar to them will vary depend greatly on what time of their life they believe they are in. I've seen folks believing they are in their 20's with young kids or even believing they are the children themselves

This one is more tricky than the others as you can't provide them with the specific people,places and things as they remember them. What I've seen work the most often is going along with their reality like the caregiver did in the example,she validated the person and assured her that things are being taken care of.

Видео What to Do When Someone with Dementia says "I Want to Go Home" (The BIG Mistake You're Making) канала Dementia Success Path