3 Ways to Respond When Someone with Alzheimer’s Says I Want to Go Home

[@christinehall6441]

This is a common thing. Alzheimers sufferers go back to childhood memories and want theit mum, dad etc we dealt with this sympathetically and didn't challenge. Reassuring mums gone to the shops etc rather than confront them with reality which causes grieving process all over again. Although this is repetitive it's kinder. Staff need proper training when caring for dementia clients.

[@dailycaring]

Absolutely, those are wonderful and kind ways to respond!

[@susannewton3757]

I volunteered in a care home for many years and it’s not only dementia sufferers who say they want to go home. The woman I was with was as sharp as a tack and when circumstances got her down she would say she wanted to go home. This is good advice.

[@anniesmith2]

Mum is 101 and has dementia. She does say she wants to go home. Instead of giving her a long song and dance now, I simply say ‘soon mum, soon.’ She seems satisfied with that answer and continues what she was doing. It covers whatever she is thinking home means to her.

[@dailycaring]

That's a wonderful way to respond!

[@anniesmith2]

Thanks…

[@ellensc-hawley3720]

this is a challenging part

[@dailycaring]

Absolutely, this is a challenging question to respond to. We hope our suggestions can help.

[@lisabevans8107]

Well from someone who experienced this.. I sent my mom with my adult daughter home for the weekend. They called about 30 mins later, my mom said this isn't my home call your mom. Never heard anything about it again.

[@nitawilliams9726]

Thank you for sharing!

[@dailycaring]

So glad this is helpful!

[@sleepinggiantssister1238]

Sometimes they actually walk home if they are unsupervised. It may be their childhood home or any home in between then and now. I met an older fellow who’s wife with dementia did this exact thing

[@dailycaring]

That's definitely a possibility, they want to go to a specific place and will do their best to get there

[@rondaleistiko1227]

My mother with dementia was taken to the hospital due to her husband having four stage cancer and he needs to go into a rehab instead of home. Mom left. The hospital went into the parking lot as everyone was looking for her and they found her in the parking lot. Trying to ask a stranger to take her home. But she couldn't remember where she lived. Thank God he called the hospital to inquire if she was supposed to be in the hospital. We were freaking out for 3 hours before we found her.

[@kingdomhearts168]

It must have been so scary to not be able to locate your mother! We're so glad that she was eventually found.

[@Laura-pi6ht]

My 84 year old mom is fast. Sometimes in the morning she has her bags packed already even though she is home already. Any other suggestions? It's tiring repacking all the time.

[@dailycaring]

It must be tiring to repeatedly help her unpack her things. You may also want to try finding out more about why she's packing up. Ask open ended questions and listen carefully to see if there are clues to what's at the root of her need to go somewhere. That may help you find an intervention that will reduce her packing up behavior. One thing to consider is that it's possible that this is a phase that will pass relatively soon, so if none of the interventions that you've tried are working, you may consider just letting her do it for a while. Another possible idea is (when she's in another room) pack up the bags she typically uses to "leave" with things that she doesn't use (like summer clothes when it's winter). So her bags seem packed up, but there's nothing for you to unpack. Then, try leaving the packed bags in her room where she can easily see them. She might think she already packed and is ready to go. When she wants to leave in the morning, distract her with "let's have breakfast before you go" and then later transition to other enjoyable activities. While she's occupied eating, hide her bags so hopefully she won't remember wanting to leave. After she goes to sleep, quietly put the bags back in her room. It sounds a bit wacky, but might be worth a try to see if it saves some time/energy. Sometimes you won't be able to completely stop the behavior, but you can try to modify it to make things a little easier for yourself.

[@glendacastillo6504]

Don't unpack.

[@janetfishwick8887]

My 94 year old mother is now in a Care Home after 32 years of living alone . Mother has stage 5 Alzheimer’s and has been in her new home for 3 months.She displays the usual signs of confusion and anxiety but is becoming more accustomed to her new surroundings. She is constantly reassured by us and the Staff at the Home, that she is being well looked after and has to stay for health and safety reasons. Her bungalow is now up for sale in order to pay for her astronomical care fees which mother seems to vaguely understand.

[@dailycaring]

It's wonderful that her care community is helping her adjust to her new home and that she's able to get the care and supervision that she needs 💜

[@dj_1969]

It’s so sad that some people have to go live in a strange place with caregivers they don’t know .

[@moxig5717]

Thank you so much for this, last week my dad kept saying that he wanted to go home, he said this can’t be our house, it’s a ramshackled! I didn’t know what to do, I started to give him tasks, I’m curious to see the video thank you for making this

[@dailycaring]

We hope the suggestions in this video are helpful. For more tips on managing dementia behaviors, check out this section on our website - dailycaring.com/tag/challenging-dementia-behaviors/