He seems to be able to tolerate only 2-5 minutes of a video, can't sit thru a whole TV show. He takes a few bites of his lunch and has to leave the room, comes back 10-20 minutes later to eat more. Is very impatient, can't wait for me to help him. He can't tolerate haircuts, grooming if it takes too long. Trying to do things fast enough to get them done before he wants to leave is driving me nuts.
I'll admit this microscopic attention span can be useful. If he comes up with some dementia-driven idea I'll tell him we'll attack it tomorrow. Please remind me then.
Bottom line: Having a sense of humor keeps me sane while caregiving. Hate to have to go there, but it helps if Joe Thespian comes out, too. I often have to call on some serious acting skills when dealing with dementia.
Visits to places we walked through were good, like the children's museum and the plant conservatory. We could go at his pace and move on when he'd had enough of one exhibit.
His barber understood the situation. Fortunately they hit on bowling as a common interest and something they could always talk about, as a kind of distraction.
My husband's dementia journey lasted ten years. There were aspects of it along the way that drove me nuts, but we worked through them and made the journey together. You don't have to be perfect to be an awesome care partner!
Yes, adapt to his changing capabilities. And you also might want to describe these symptoms to his doctor and see if a medication could help.
Blessings for a resolution to this and the other challenges on this path.
So, there you are. She does enjoy the news now. She watches CNN and reads the paper. Anything short. It is frustrating but AmazingSusan is right: just go with it and you will be more at ease.
Sometimes I just tell her to calm down and wait a minute. I promise her a treat when we're done. TV is a bust - she can't follow plots at all anymore. She used to love Shirley Temple movies, but now she just will watch it if I sit there too because she thinks it's on for me.
I don't have any real advice for you, but I sympathize because we're in the same boat. I think it's just a new phase of the dementia.