My lovely mum has always been a sociable person who likes to be the centre of attention. She is now in the mid stages of Alzheimer's and although outwardly she looks 'normal', her personality traits have become magnified and are very embarrassing as she has no etiquette/social filter any more. She begs me every day to take her out (she used to have a car before she was diagnosed with dementia and would always go out every day). Covid restrictions have given me an excuse why I can't take her out all the time, but I do try to take her to M & S or Boots once a week at the moment, but of course once lockdown is lifted I will have to take her out more.
The problem is that as soon as we go into a shop, cafe etc, she scans the room for someone to attract and then forces on them what she thinks is a witty conversation. For example, last week she saw some one in a mask and pointed her fingers ( as if they were a gun) at them and said, ' Bang, bang'. Another day she said to a stranger, 'Did you know you can't bring your gun in here'. The people concerned looked at her as if she was mad and I found myself trying to stand behind her, raising my eyes and trying to mouth that she has dementia (impossible now we have to wear masks of course). If we sit in a cafe, she clicks her fingers at the staff and tells them loudly that she thinks they've forgotten her - she has zero patience and everything has to revolve around her instantly. Or, she shouts across to people on other tables to make conversation and tries to show them pics of her dog. She constantly tries to pull her mask down so she can speak to them and I've had embarrassing moments trying to pull her mask back up constantly, whilst she fights me to pull it down. She also tells people that I'll 'smack her' if she takes her mask off (I have never said this, but she thinks it's a cheeky, fun thing to say). Or, she's obsessed with small children and say's in a creepy voice, 'I'm going to nip you'. What she really means is that she finds them cute (a bit like when we say we could eat a baby up as they're so gorgeous).
Sorry for the long post - I'm just feeling down with it all and don't know how to deal with mum. If I knew people realised she has dementia, I wouldn't be so worried when I take her out - but part of her comes across fairly 'normal' so I suspect they just think she's weird or rude. She butts in on other people's conversations and I can't get her away from them, unless I physically try to steer her away, which I must confess I have done on occasion!
Any help on how to deal with all this would be much appreciated
The problem is that as soon as we go into a shop, cafe etc, she scans the room for someone to attract and then forces on them what she thinks is a witty conversation. For example, last week she saw some one in a mask and pointed her fingers ( as if they were a gun) at them and said, ' Bang, bang'. Another day she said to a stranger, 'Did you know you can't bring your gun in here'. The people concerned looked at her as if she was mad and I found myself trying to stand behind her, raising my eyes and trying to mouth that she has dementia (impossible now we have to wear masks of course). If we sit in a cafe, she clicks her fingers at the staff and tells them loudly that she thinks they've forgotten her - she has zero patience and everything has to revolve around her instantly. Or, she shouts across to people on other tables to make conversation and tries to show them pics of her dog. She constantly tries to pull her mask down so she can speak to them and I've had embarrassing moments trying to pull her mask back up constantly, whilst she fights me to pull it down. She also tells people that I'll 'smack her' if she takes her mask off (I have never said this, but she thinks it's a cheeky, fun thing to say). Or, she's obsessed with small children and say's in a creepy voice, 'I'm going to nip you'. What she really means is that she finds them cute (a bit like when we say we could eat a baby up as they're so gorgeous).
Sorry for the long post - I'm just feeling down with it all and don't know how to deal with mum. If I knew people realised she has dementia, I wouldn't be so worried when I take her out - but part of her comes across fairly 'normal' so I suspect they just think she's weird or rude. She butts in on other people's conversations and I can't get her away from them, unless I physically try to steer her away, which I must confess I have done on occasion!
Any help on how to deal with all this would be much appreciated