Spelling words

[harvey]

MIL has been in a care home for a couple of months now. She had been going downhill rapidly which is why we placed her there. She seems to be getting worse quite fast. She was found in another residents bed with no clothes on and has lost all her inhibitions. Quite often she only has a top on and nothing else and thinks nothing of it. She was always so modest and it is very sad to see her like this. She has also started spelling out words rather than saying them and most often the spellings make no sense. She asks for her 'R's' or her 'E's' from the cupboard or drawers, no idea what she wants. She asks for the thing she puts over her eye before she goes to sleep and tells us where it is but there is nothing there! Healthwise her doctor tells us she is as strong as a horse but this spelling behaviour is so strange and I have not seen any posts on here with anything similar. Anyone else heard this type of thing?

Polly

 

[Grannie G]

Hello Polly

I haven`t heard of the spelling before but my mother also lost all her inhibitions and thought nothing of undressing in front of anyone, at any time. I also felt she had lost her dignity but thankfully, she was unaware.

 

[Onlyme]

I have not heard of it but perhaps she is sounding out the sound of the word rather than the spelling.

 

[Padraig]

Spelling

There was a lady in the room next to my wife at a NH who use to spell out letters at the top of her voice. She kept it up for long periods and I made out words that appeared like an address. I put it down to her regression to childhood when school children were taught to spell words by rote; repetition unthinkingly.

 

[PatH]

Yes ,Ive heard this , and Ive heard a woman count constantly from 1 to 99, and I could never understand how she knew to stop at 99 and start over again. Pat

 

[TinaT]

Or the lady who constantly counts on in two's, 2, 4, 6, 8 etc., It was rather wearing when I slept at the care home for two nights after my husband had had a hernia operation as she was in the bedroom below my husband and I got NO sleep at all!!

xxTinaT

 

[harvey]

Thank you everyone, she did make sense when she was tired, lay down in bed and spelt out R E S T. But mostly her spelling makes no sense at all. She would be mortified if she knew she was wandering about half dressed or naked but she is obviously unaware now.

Polly

 

[TinaT]

Harvey, what measures are the care home taking to keep her dressed? I would find it very strange that the carers were not keeping an eye on her and 'sorting her out' regularly. I did encounter one dear old lady who had taken all her bottom half clothes off and I found her underwear and trousers wet through further down the corridor. She was obviously feeling very uncomfortable and quite naturally had got rid of the offending clothes.

We had a thread about a lady who constantly took her clothing off some time ago and the poster was advised to buy a cat suit type of all in one which was zipped up the back.

I wonder if anyone else remembers the thread. I think it was about 2/3 years ago.

xxTinaT

 

[harvey]

The staff in the care home are very good with her, when they find her undressed they sort her straight away.

The doctor was called in regarding her spelling episode and she is now on antibiotics, spelling seems to have stopped.

Polly