‘Mom, I didn’t steal your dentures’: Coping when dementia turns to delusion

Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute’s Mature Adult Outpatient Clinic Coordinator, Linda Shumaker, is interviewed.

Many people think of dementia solely as a condition that causes memory loss.

That’s one reason family caregivers may be so surprised and upset when older relatives start having major psychiatric symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions or paranoia, even though they are common features of dementia.

Another reason, said Linda Shumaker, a nurse who works with older adults with behavioral health problems, is that stigma has kept advocates and caregivers from talking openly about psychiatric problems that can increase stress and result in earlier placement in a nursing home.

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