…unless it is necessary. When asked if she tasted the ribs at a recent bar-b-que my mother said, “No, I didn’t serve myself.” One of the guests said, “Well, you were right behind me in line”. Mom looked confused and I just changed the subject to the ingredients in a salad on her plate.
Later on while cleaning up the kitchen (something she still does a good job at) I asked her again if she tasted the ribs and she again said, “No, I didn’t serve myself”. I just responded with, “oh, that’s too bad I will make hem again the next time you come for dinner”.
When an individual with a dementia, or illness that causes short term memory loss, makes an error, it isn’t recommend that you correct everything they say that isn’t actually true. When you are constantly correcting someone they start to feel bad about themselves and it actually affects self-esteem and could cause depression.
You do need to correct misinformation like the wrong day of an appointment, party or other date. And
when you do this correction – do it lightly such as, “I know I can’t keep all these dates straight myself – let me put it on your calendar. I’ll call you the night before so you have a little warning.” However, you might also need to call the morning of the appointment as well. Some family caregivers wait till the hour
before… choose a timing that works for you and your family member.