Adolescent Behavior

I don’t have experience with the wise cracks, but the adolescent behavior I can understand. If you notice on the dbat staging tool it actually gives an age equivalence at each stage. My mom once told me she could do whatever she wanted because I wasn’t the boss of her. It’s like she is aging backwards.

Dementia can cause arguing like a 12-year-old due to brain changes that impair judgment, communication, and impulse control, leading to frustration, emotional outbursts, paranoia, and a regression to childlike behaviors like stubbornness, irrationality, and defiance, often triggered by fear, confusion, or loss of control, not deliberate manipulation. I learned here: Never argue with someone with dementia and 2) you can’t reason with someone whose reasoner is broken. Dementia causes the brain to age backward to eventually become like a toddler. Found these tips online:
How to Respond

• Stay Calm & Validate: Take a breath and acknowledge their feelings, even if the reality is different.
• Redirect & Distract: Change the subject, move to a different room, or offer a calming activity (music, a snack).
• Simplify & Reassure: Speak slowly, looking them in the eyes, keep tasks simple, and provide comfort.
• Find the Trigger: Look for unmet needs (pain, bathroom, boredom, confusion).
• Enter Their Reality: Sometimes agreeing with an untrue statement helps them feel better and de-escalates the situation. 

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