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You can type just about anything into any search bar and come up with great answers. The first I hit with "showtime" goes like this:

"When people with dementia are still cognitive enough to realize there is a problem, they often have the ability to put on a convincing façade of normalcy for a short period of time, known as "showtiming". 

I actually dislike this definition and have seen it used on AC to claim that the elder isn't REALLY suffering from dementia, but is capable of "pulling the wool over the eyes of others" while only the poor caregiver has to deal with the reality.
Few elders with dementia are capable of thinking all THAT out, trust me.

It must be said that many elders in early to early-mid stage dementia are well aware they are impaired and "losing it". They will "confabulate" and that's the expression I prefer to showtiming. They will atttempt to convince strangers, doctors, etc. that they are fine. Are better than what they really feel. They will hide fear and failings. They are embarrassed not to know, not to remember, not to be able to control. This isn't done with some evil intent to "fool anyone". It is done from fear and desperation, and there is nothing "showtime" about it, in the old retired RN's humble opinion.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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"Dementia and Showtiming

Piggybacking off fear and denial, dementia can seriously complicate doctor’s appointments, leaving family caregivers utterly flummoxed and frustrated. Seniors in the early and middle stages of dementia sometimes use all their energy and what remains of their faculties to put on a rather convincing performance that they are fully alert and lucid. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “showtiming.” The energy and concentration such an interaction requires usually leaves a dementia patient physically and mentally exhausted afterwards, sometimes for hours or even days.

The reasons for showtiming can vary, but fear and denial typically play a role. A very specific type of what many perceive to be “denial” is often to blame in dementia patients: anosognosia. This neurological condition is characterized by a lack of awareness of one’s own cognitive or psychological impairments. Changes in the brain render a senior with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia incapable of recognizing their lapses in memory, loss of judgement and mood swings. Dementia patients with anosognosia will vehemently deny any memory problems or instances of poor decision-making despite being presented with concrete evidence of such. They may even deny other symptoms or health issues simply because they do not remember them."

Source: https://www.agingcare.com/articles/doctor-visits-with-elderly-parent-149071.htm

If you want your LO to be less able to showtime, make their appointments later in the day and not in the mornings when they have more cognitive "reserves".
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Reply to Geaton777
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Showtime is when a person with dementia "pretends" or puts on a show for a short time that there is nothing wrong with them and they act more like their "normal" self.
It usually doesn't last too long as it's too hard on their brain for them to put on the show for too long, but it often is enough to make those around them question if in fact they really do have any kind of dementia. Especially those that aren't around the person with dementia for any length of time.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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