When Someone with Dementia Says, ‘I Just Want to Go Home’

“I want to go home.”

Nearly every dementia caregiver has heard this heartbreaking plea from their loved one. They may already be at home or they may be struggling to accept their new surroundings after a move to long-term care, but this simple statement is still jarring. Home means different things for different people, but dementia tends to take this concept to a new and confusing extreme.

How Dementia Skews a Senior’s Perception of Time and Place
It’s fairly well accepted by dementia experts that the “home” most elders wish to return to is their childhood home. In the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, it is thought that a senior may tap into remaining memories from long ago and revert to a younger period in their minds…

Continue reading on Agingcare for thoughts about why people with dementia often ask to go home – no matter where they are – and how to cope:

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Check out Dr. Leslie Kernisan’s free training webinar How to Help Resistant Aging Parents and consider joining this amazingly supportive group! Better Health While Aging presents Helping Our Older Parents:

Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “For anyone having to walk the last segments of life with a loved one, read this.” …Delores