How To Help When They Say They Want To Go Home

At Visiting Angels^® Miami, we provide referrals for dementia care providers in the Pinecrest area. We know this is a difficult time for your family and you are facing many new situations and conerns.

Almost anyone who has helped care for a loved one experiencing dementia is familiar with the tendency for the person to express their desire to “go home,” despite already being home, being in assisted living or having relocated to live with a family member. This circumstance can pose a challenge for caregivers but not one that can’t be managed with some understanding and a little creativity.

We'd like to offer some helpful tips for how to deal with this common situation.

Understanding.

It’s important to understand your loved ones is undergoing profound neurologic changes. The reasoning skills most of us would rely on to ground ourselves in reality are beginning to fade dramatically. This alone is very stressful and anxiety producing for the person and their family members. This is also why it’s never a good idea to attempt to reason with your loved one or continually try to force them to remember things. The confusion and anxiety they are experiencing will only be worsened by attempts to force them to think logically.

Another important point in understanding requests to go home from an individual receiving dementia care is that the expression may be a sign of physical discomfort. Always check to make sure your loved one is not in pain, too hot or cold, or simply needs to use the restroom.

Seek first to validate and reassure.

Always acknowledge the request to go home before attempting to pivot or distract. Reassure them that you are listening and you care. Try to use the request to redirect conversation by asking questions about their home, ask for stories, history, and other details they may be remembering. 

Those living with dementia care can also benefit from listening to music from the time period when they were happiest. Keep a playlist handy for times like these. Music is often a welcomed and useful distraction.

Last resort — go for a drive.

If after all your attempts to distract, your loved one is still insistent about going home, you may occasionally have to actually put them in the car and go for a drive as if you are taking them home. You can then use the trip to distract with observations along the way. 

Connect with Qualified Dementia Care Caregivers in Pinecrest

At Visiting Angels Miami, we have developed a network of the area’s most qualified and compassionate caregivers specializing in dementia care in the Pinecrest vicinity. We’ve spent years serving the community and matching families with exceptional care professionals. We bring peace of mind to families in:

• Pinecrest
• Coconut Grove
• Coral Gables
• Cutler Bay
• Kendall
• Key Biscayne
• Miami
• Olympia Heights
• Palmetto Bay
• South Miami
• And the surrounding community

Schedule Your Free Dementia Care Assessment Today

To learn more about how our dementia care caregiver referral service in Pinecrest can help your family enjoy a greater peace of mind, please call us today to schedule a complimentary assessment of your loved one’s needs.