As most of you know, the person with dementia seems to be "nice" and "normal" to most people but those of us doing all the work, tend to get the short end of the stick. Every 2 weeks or so, things get tense with me and Mom and we sit and talk about it. It's always the same conversation. I explain things to her that she "gets" when we are talking, but soon forgets. Today I wrote her a letter. I wrote it large. I wrote it to the point. She "got" it. I am saving it for 2 weeks from now when she has forgotten it all. I will keep giving it to her when needed.I wish I had thought of this a LONG time ago!
Mom comprehends what she reads MUCH better than what she hears (or doesn't hear, but pretends to). She doesn't remember what she reads for long...but definitely longer than a conversation. She is VERY hard of hearing, so confusion is much worse during important conversations.