New challenge

It's not unusual. My mom is in MC and she's told me twice that there's a family that lives upstairs and the kids come down through the closet to see her. She doesn't seem frightened by the delusion so I just smiled and aknowledged it. Honestly, I'm not even sure she's having an actual delusion/hallucination or if she's confused about a memory or something she saw. Does your dad live alone?

Hopefully they can give you some insight if this is the disease progressing or if it's something else. We realized my mom was having delusions while she was living in AL. Besides other odd behaviors, she wandered from the home several times and the last elopement she was found at a house down the street. She was brought to the ER and told the doctor she heard me calling for her so she went out to find me. She has had other concerning delusions but is now in MC so we know that she is safe. When I saw her on Saturday she as having happy delusions so I just went along with it. When I saw her yesterday, she was confused and a little agitated - she told me her sister was there to visit someone else (but didn't see her). I just said, "oh, I'll have to ask her if she was here…but if she was she probably would have come to see you" and I changed the subject. For a PWD, the delusions are very real. Not sure if your dad is on medication but if his symptoms ramp up, he would benefit from a geriatric psychiatrist. My mom's neurologist and PCP were not willing to treat her symptoms. Her GP has continuously tweaked her medications and she is now having more good days then bad.

I'm completely brand new to this forum, and this is my first post. I'm also new to the dementia experience overall, as my mom was diagnosed about a year ago. Since then, my family and I have been trying to learn how to navigate this devastating disease.

I just wanted to say to OP that your Dad is definitely not alone in experiencing this. In my mom's case, she sees people in her house every day. She feels they've pretty much invaded her home and "sees" them trying to take her and my Dad's possessions. They are always trying to take things such as her dresses, pictures on the wall, knick-knacks, etc. My Dad has been taking steps such as moving her clothing into their spare bedroom closet and locking the door, and putting away items that the people are trying to take. But she is continually going around the house and moving things from their spots and hiding them, taking contents out of drawers and dumping them on the bed, etc.

My dad has been in communication with her doctor (they've ruled out UTI, etc.) but the issue persists. Though my mom remains in good spirits, it definitely bothers her. And sometimes she gets angry with my dad because he isn't doing anything to stop the people from trying to take their things.

To the poster who provided the "Understanding the Dementia Experience" resource, thank you and I'm in the process of checking it out.