Odd Behavior

Many PWD lose their social filters and say inappropriate things. If you want to continue taking him out, you could have small cards to hand out subtly after the incident with an explanation that he has dementia.

it’s very common. Telling him not to do it won’t work. First he won’t remember and second what I learned here is that “you can’t reason with someone whose reasoner is broken”. The cards are a good idea.

The difficult experiences in public with your loved one with dementia can be quite upsetting for all. My dear wife was very social and, while she was still able to get around better, when in public would try to talk to others. Most were tolerant but some became frightened or annoyed. When I would try to guide her away or redirect her back to myself or family she would often become upset, resisting, and becoming agitated. In time it became too difficult to even try to get out in any public place for fear of an incident. I was never confident that others would understand and that someone would not call authorities opening up a huge can of worms for us. So, our isolation became more intense, limited to visits to our home mostly. It was a shame because her social nature and enjoyment had become contaminated by this disease stealing from her one experience which she did enjoy. As a note as to my fear about others calling the authorities, on one occasion she became so upset and prior to being under hospice care, that I took her to the emergency room not knowing what else to do. This was also before I had found this forum. She became even more upset, demanding to leave the exam room. The doctor was clearly not well educated about this condition. He was just before committing her to a mental health facility involuntarily. By a stroke of luck, the hospital social worker showed up, realized what was going on and told the doctor his plan would not help her condition, only make it worse. She was discharged quickly, thanks to the social worker intervening, and I took her home, never to ever take her to the hospital again. If the doctor could not understand the situation, I lost any confidence that some nosy person watching an interaction in public would be able to control their need to contact authorities.