Do You Reorient a Dementia Patient?

For instance, if someone with dementia thinks that the year is 1970, and this is not harmful or hurting anyone else, let it go. Avoid trying to "reorient" the person to the correct year. Instead, try to identify feelings related to 1970. Is the person reminiscing about a pleasant time in his or her life?

Do you correct a person with dementia?

Don't correct, contradict, blame or insist. Reminders are rarely kind. They tell a person how disabled they are – over and over again. People living with dementia say and do normal things for someone with memory impairment.

Should you orient people with dementia?

As a rule, reality orientation must be mixed with compassion and used appropriately to benefit someone living with the confusion of dementia. Applying it without evaluating if it might cause emotional distress to the individual since there are some times when it would not be appropriate.