Feeding utensils

[mhamby2]

Hello! So, I take care of my grandma on a daily basis. She has not been diagnosed per a doctor but she does have some symptoms that are consistent dementia. (We are concerned about bringing it up to the doctor for the mere fact that she gets pretty upset. She appears fine in public (for the most part), but at home she is a different person.) I am not really sure what I am looking for, but she asked me to feed her cake today at lunch. Feeding her has become a regular occurrence in the household. She is embarrassed to eat out because of how messy eating a meal is for her and the fact that she misses her plate and will put empty utensils to her mouth, etc. Anyways, in feeding her I noticed that when I put the spoon in her mouth, she would push it back out of her mouth so that it is almost completely out of her mouth. She will then proceed to eat but ends up dragging her dentures over the top of the food leading to her barely getting any food and the rest being pressed tightly against the spoon. She said something was wrong with the spoon. She then later asked if it was a different kind of spoon, but it was the same type of spoon that the rest of the family use. (We have weighted silverware but she seems unable to use them.) My question is has anyone else experienced this with their loved one? Thank you!

 

[Bod]

How does she manage with finger food/drinks?
It may be worth while asking the GP for a SALT referral or a trip to the dentist to ensure there are no teeth problems.

Bod

 

[Bunpoots]

Hi @mhamby2 welcome to the forum.

I agree with Bod that the SALT team and dentist is a good idea but in the meantime I wonder if using a flatter spoon when you feed your grandma would make things easier.
You can get spoons with flat bowls from care shops but you might find the ones intended for weaning infants work equally well if your grandma is happy to take smaller mouthfuls of food.

Finger foods might be easier too, cut up into bite sized pieces.