New here and need help

DoninNC

I'm Don and the sole caregiver to my DW. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's just over two years ago although looking back it started awhile before that with using the wrong word and getting confused while driving. Presently she can't put together words to communicate and talks in gibberish and numbers. When she tries to talk to me I have no idea what she is talking about or asking me. Has anyone found a way to handle this?

Gig Harbor

I have not had to deal with this yet but I am sure you will get lots of good answers. I wonder about getting a photo album and putting pictures of everyday things and see if she can point to what she wants. Welcome to the club.

Ed1937

Don, welcome to the forum. Sorry you are dealing with this disease. You should receive several posts on this thread.

I don't know of a way to decipher that language, but just try to figure out what she is trying to communicate to you. Watch her body language, her eyes, and any other signs that might help you. My wife was doing that same thing after a stay in the hospital. I couldn't communicate with her very well, but hers was due to medication conflicts, and when one of them was stopped, she began to speak normally. I'm sure others will share their experiences with you. Stick around, and you will soon become family here. We have a lot of good people who are willing to help, and share the things that works for them in just about any situation.

M1

Hi Don, so sorry for your trouble.  It sounds like she's progressed pretty fast.

I don't know if it would work for her, but there are communication boards with lots of pictures of common objects--I've most often seen them used for nonverbal children with cerebral palsy.  And I don't know much about them, but it might be worth an online look.

Good luck, and sorry you have need to be here.  It's a good place.

David J

Don- Sorry you need to be here, but it’s a good place to be, given the circumstances. Many people with experience and advice. Not to mention emotional support. 

Understanding nonverbal cues becomes very important as the PWD loses the ability to remember and use words. I’ve known my DW for almost 50 years and use this familiarity to interpret, guess, or figure out what she is trying to tell me. I then give her yes or no questions. We are beyond either/or questions. 

Dave

ButterflyWings

Hi Don - 

Welcome although it is a club no one wants to join. We support each other a great deal here. My DH is having word retrieval problems, but not yet the mixed up speech many experience. Not yet anyway. 

I did a search for you, using the term "word salad" and here is one thread on what you are describing. There are more threads on this topic if you want to run a search. Good luck on the journey. I hope this helps.  https://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?g=posts&t=2147547793

And here is the link to the overall search results. So, you can click on any of the threads to follow previous posts on this topic. I'm going to read more of these posts myself now, as word salad is surely in our future and maybe not too far away. Wishing you a better day tomorrow

 https://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?g=search

CStrope

Hi Don, welcome.  Like others have said, sorry you are in the situation that makes you join this group, but glad you have found us.  It is great to read others' messages and not feel so alone.

My DH does not do the jibberish talking, but I often struggle trying to figure out what he is talking about.  There's a lot of use of "that thing" or "those people", and then I have to try and guess what he means.

Hang in there....the support you find with this group is so very very helpful.

I lived in Wilmington for 4 years when I was first married.  Beautiful area!

DoninNC

Thank you for the encouragement and yes pronouns have become the norm. He, she, they make up the majority of the conversation. When I ask who "they" are she says she doesn't know. She is constantly imagining that other people are here.

DoninNC

Thanks for the link, I see many are seeing the same issue I have with random words, pronouns and numbers. Impossible to understand and then she gets frustrated which leds to anger.

DoninNC

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it.

Whyzit

David J wrote:

Don- Sorry you need to be here, but it’s a good place to be, given the circumstances. Many people with experience and advice. Not to mention emotional support. 

Understanding nonverbal cues becomes very important as the PWD loses the ability to remember and use words. I’ve known my DW for almost 50 years and use this familiarity to interpret, guess, or figure out what she is trying to tell me. I then give her yes or no questions. We are beyond either/or questions. 

Dave

Thank you for saying “we are beyond either/or questions. It hit me like a ton of bricks as my DH can no longer select a choice. Going through McDonalds drive through yesterday showed me that but your words strongly confirmed it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Isn’t it amazing how one small comment can most likely help many?

mommom9

Hi Don. My DH speech was one of the first things affected. Speech therapy helps. I don’t know if it will help you. Speak slow , pictures of people and common things can sometimes help. Sorry you are on this hard journey I agree with others you are in right place.

CStrope

Thank you for the encouragement and yes pronouns have become the norm. He, she, they make up the majority of the conversation. When I ask who "they" are she says she doesn't know. She is constantly imagining that other people are here.

About a year ago, before my DH was diagnosed, I kept saying to him, "when did you stop using nouns?"  His answer was "I haven't taken English class in 50 years why do you expect me to remember those things".  Now I know!!

zauberflote

My mother had been a superbly articulate speaker, and to see that disappear was very affecting. I'd often ask her, "are we talking about [insert person who it might be]?"  If yes, I tried to tie whatever he words might have meant to something I knew about that person. By that time, generally she'd forgotten what she'd been trying to say anyway, (and sometimes said that!), so I'd go on with, "remember that time when we.. or they.. did such and such and how funny/silly/amazing/wonderful that was?"  I greatly enjoyed telling stories about our own family and her parents/sibs. She enjoyed the telling, and sometimes was inspired to tell one of her own, and sometimes it would be something I'd never known! Like the time she was a young high-schooler and had no date for what must have been a prom, so her favorite (older enough to impress) cousin took her, and got other boys to dance with her too!

Forgive the diversion... we are coming up on the first anniversary of her death and she is much on my mind. 

MyMaxie

Former school psychologist and there are picture boards for nonverbal people that may help. You can google picture communication symbols and print and laminate them.  If you know a special education teacher, speech language therapist or occupational therapist they may be able to offer assistance. Special education teachers often make their own symbol page that is relevant to each child.  For instance you could have one sheet with foods and drinks that she may be able to point to so she can make her food/drink choices.  Good luck.