Mailbox Response

The question was submitted 12/06/2007

Subject: Rambling

How do I stop a dementia resident from continuous loud rambling. This carries on for up to 7 hours at a time. It is upsetting other residents. I have tried to change the subject to get her to be aware of me and so to quieten her. Her main topic are becoming more crude by the day.
when her husband comes in she will change to normal conversation, as well as questioning him as to why she can't go home with him. Once he goes it's back to the rambling. We don't have the staff to be with her 24/7

Answer from DementiaNet

Thank you for your question.

This is a difficult problem to address in the abstract.

I would suggest asking your local Aged Psychiatry Team to review her. Management will need to be specific to this lady and is often on a trial and error basis.

The answer was published on DementiaNet 18/06/2007