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Mom has started adult day care recently, and likes it, but when at home has no initiative to do anything. She used to read, play cards, etc. I don't know if its because she is engaged outside the house, and now doesn't knoww how to start things, or the dementia has progressed to another level. Thoughts? She is also engaged if we go out somewhere. Today, though, for instance when I went to visit (she lives alone but close by) she wss just sitting in a chair and when I went back in the afternoon, she was in bed,came downstairs briefly, then said shhe was going back to bed (it was 5pm). She seems to sleep 12 hours and is still sometimes tired at home.

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Madjos, macular degeneration of one's eyes can really slow a person down. My Mom use to read a lot of books and watch sports on TV, but as her eyes kept failing her, she stopped doing those things.

Mom use to enjoy cooking but she was doing less and less meals from scratch, and not keeping up with the cleaning mainly because she couldn't see the marks on the walls, bathrooms that needed cleaning, etc.

If my Dad and I were out on an appointment or shopping, we would find Mom sitting in a chair in the family room, no light was on, nor was the TV. It was like when we left she sat there and didn't move until we came home. I didn't know it back then, but now I think she was starting to be a fall risk, and she and Dad kept it to themselves.

Mom would also sleep. I remember my parents bragging that they only needed 6 hours of sleep at night.... yeah right, I would catch them napping after breakfast, after lunch, before dinner and after dinner. I could tell when Dad answered the phone that he was half-awake.

The more I read on the forums here, this appears to be the norm in many of the households.
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She may be depressed, try some new hobbies or groups, art and music therapy really work, make some enquiries with your local dementia or seniors associations, gardening cooking any of her previous passions may work, my mother was similar because she knew she couldn't do the previous hobbies or skills she used to do, but she loves magazines and she can still flick through those, try something simpler she may like, it's not the end of the book it's just a different chapter,
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I agree that she may be afraid of falling and she's probably depressed. When my MIL's eyes started deteriorating I went to the library and got her an assortment of books on tape. I put her little boom box in front of her on a tray table and showed her how to change the discs. She loved it. Good luck!
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Thanks for the replies. I will make sure she gets her eyes checked again soon. Today we went out and all was fine, so she might also be tired ftom adukt center each day. Yes, I think she knows she can't do her hobbies at her previous level. But she is still cognizant enough to know she doesn't like books on tape! I am going to see about bringing in things she used to do to daycare, as she can still teach people handcrafts. Thanks again all.
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Madjos, curious how old is your Mom and does she have other ailments besides dementia?
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She is 82, diagnosed about a year ago (though showed signs about a year before that) in good health, had always been spry, if not physically active. Has high cholesterol, which seems under control, and macular degeneration. Up until recently, she would read constantly, and play solitaire when alone. Over the past werks I've noticed that she isnt reading when I get there, or doing anything. Not interested in tv, or listening to radio. If someone visits, she's fine, but definately needs to be told what to do.
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