Trying to communicate by numbers
- Thread starter monron
- Start date
Sorry no-one had replied yet monron. I've never heard of this. How does it go? Does he just say numbers or are words sometimes mixed in?
When referring to an object a PWD sometimes substitutes another word for the name of the object, it need not be a noun,
Do you mean something like 'what's on the 5' instead of 'what's on the TV'?
Not that there is any consistency in the TV being a 5.
Do you mean something like 'what's on the 5' instead of 'what's on the TV'?
Not that there is any consistency in the TV being a 5.
When mum went into her care home I remember there was a lady who, I believe, had semantic dementia (obviously I was never told whether I was right or not) and had lost all understanding of what words meant. She used to sit in the corner saying "17.........51...........3........42.........8..........etc" all the time. Just occasionally a real word would pop out.
When the carers come to my husband and are moving him back up to a sitting position with the slide sheet we say ready steady go instead of 123 as they pull up together. If he gets numbers in his mind then it could last all day. I will say do you want a drink? He says that's a 1 then. Do you want a film on? That's up to 2 now. Some times I am on -3 and I have not spoken to him. He will shout out for no reason that's a 9 now. This will last all day .He forgets what number he's on and asks me. If I say I think it's 27 and he doesn't agree it causes problems. He also has 3 kisses when settling for afternoon sleep or when I have a sitter and go to the shops but bed time he has 7. If I then go to the bathroom before going to bed myself he has forgotten and wants another 7.
So I try to avoid numbers if possible which is very difficult.
Clarice2
When my Mum suffered a long period of severe agitation (now believed to be due to pain) she started counting numbers repetitively, from 1 up to 30 or 40 something. This seemed to be a coping mechanism rather than an alternative way of communicating. She now only occasionally counts - usually just up to 11.
Sorry that I have not replied to anyone yet but here we go.My wife Pauline is in a care home and when I visit her (almost every day) we can sometimes hold meaningful conversations, but mostly when she is agitated her words turn to numbers. she sees people and things entering her room under the door and when she tries to explain she may say something like " and he came on a 2222 5554 5559999 " and then continue to talk in a mixture of words and numbers,
This cant inform you enough I AM SO DISTRESSED. RON,
This cant inform you enough I AM SO DISTRESSED. RON,
I'm so sorry Ron that you are having to deal with this, it must be very upsetting. Does your wife ever talk to the carers in the same way, using numbers instead of words? I have no experience of it myself (my dad has lost his speech almost completely now). From what you've said, is your wife also seeing things? I'd probably talk to the care home manager about it, especially if it's new thing.
My wife does something similar now in that she is struggling to name things so is starting to talk in colours.
It makes conversation a guessing game for me but if your wife is at a more advanced stage and you feel that talking to the experts on the help line will help you don't be afraid to call them as I understand that they are very good. The details are
National Dementia Helpline
0300 222 11 22
Our helpline advisers are here for you.
Helpline opening hours:
Monday to Wednesday 9am – 8pm
Thursday and Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm
Beyond that there is an AS Factsheet on communicating that may contain something that would help you and you can find it with this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/migrate/downloads/factsheet_communicating.pdf
It makes conversation a guessing game for me but if your wife is at a more advanced stage and you feel that talking to the experts on the help line will help you don't be afraid to call them as I understand that they are very good. The details are
National Dementia Helpline
0300 222 11 22
Our helpline advisers are here for you.
Helpline opening hours:
Monday to Wednesday 9am – 8pm
Thursday and Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm
Beyond that there is an AS Factsheet on communicating that may contain something that would help you and you can find it with this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/migrate/downloads/factsheet_communicating.pdf
My late aunt did this for a while. She'd say something like "I need the 5489723" and get very agitated when we didn't understand what she wanted to say. But in her case it was temporary and she went back to talking normally after a week or so. It was suspected she'd had a small stroke, but nobody witnessed it.
