My mother is 93 and was diagnosed with AD four years ago. She was admitted to the dementia ward of a care home one month ago and, thankfully, she is settling in reasonably well. However, her major complaint is about the television in her room. Almost every day, she is telling us that the TV is not working. We check the TV on a regular basis and make sure that it is working correctly. Quite often, we find that it is the clumsy and impatient way she has used the remote control that has caused a problem. But when we try to show Mum that the TV is working correctly, she flicks through the channels, glancing at each programme for just a few seconds, and then says her TV is showing all the old programmes, things she's seen before. We try to tell her that her TV is showing the same programmes as everyone else's, but to no avail. I think it is Mum's perception of the programmes that is at fault. Admittedly, a lot of daytime programmes are very similar, but Mum is no longer able to perceive the slight differences between one programme and another of the same series.
Finally, my question: How best to overcome these problems? I could buy a remote control more suitable for someone with AD. But would it be better to replace the TV (which has caused so much frustration) with a monitor and DVD player and buy a set of suitable DVDs that Mum might enjoy? Any suggestions?
Finally, my question: How best to overcome these problems? I could buy a remote control more suitable for someone with AD. But would it be better to replace the TV (which has caused so much frustration) with a monitor and DVD player and buy a set of suitable DVDs that Mum might enjoy? Any suggestions?