My MIL has been eating things that aren't food - and today was putting hummus on the lid of the container and tried to eat it. Advice?
She said that the lid was bread, tried to bite it and then put it back down on the hummus container. She has eating napkins before thinking that they were bread, not sure what this behavior means?
It means her dementia has advanced and she's no longer aware of what she's doing, basically. If she has a desire to chew, you can buy her something called Chewlery which she can chew on and which is harmless. I don't know if she's at that point yet or will get to that point, but many people afflicted with Alzheimer's/dementia DO reach that point.
It doesn't MEAN anything. She looks at something and thinks 'I'll eat that"--if she's even thinking cognitively at all.
She's not doing it to be mean or kooky or difficult. Her brain simply doesn't function on a level of 'this is food, this is not' anymore.
I don't think you can get her to stop doing this. My own experience has been that one behavior, weird as it seems, tends to dissipate and another one, equally weird begins. Dementia is no day at the park.
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https://www.arktherapeutic.com/chewelry-for-adults-variety-pack/
Wishing you the best of luck with a difficult situation
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She's not doing it to be mean or kooky or difficult. Her brain simply doesn't function on a level of 'this is food, this is not' anymore.
I don't think you can get her to stop doing this. My own experience has been that one behavior, weird as it seems, tends to dissipate and another one, equally weird begins. Dementia is no day at the park.