Over the last year, I have noticed a decreasing ability in DH to understand directions, i.e., North, South, East and West. This really goes against his character. I would tell him that the storm is coming out of the South and he would ask me to explain. Up until the last month or so, he would get really mad if I mentioned a direction and it caused trouble for me. Last night, when I got home from work, a storm was really threating from all directions. I told him that there was a really black cloud to the West and also one to the South. We were out in the yard and he just stood there. He then asked me to point at the clouds. I did and he then acknowledged them. We talked later about it and he told me that when I say a direction, he has no idea what it means. He actually thanked me for being patient and not getting mad at him.
Actually that was my first idea that my husband had a problem. He was always good with directions and then started arguing with people over which way we were going.
This is really weird. He still knows which way to go, he just doesn't know what the word means. I have always been the one who gets "turned around" and gets lost in the mountains. DH always knew which way was North. Now, he would know which way to go but would not be able to tell me that it was North. He would point and say we need to go that way.
One of the beginning signs for me was when he took apart a carberator and couldn't get it back together. I'll bet this was 8 years ago or so.
What happens next...(in several cases I've known).. is that when One POINTS, they will look at your finger, not toward the object of the 'point'. Does that make sense? I would forget and point out something of interest and my DH would look at me...instead. awwwggg.
Yes, perfect sense to me. My dh has been doing that so long he must know what my finger looks like in pitch black...... I have problems with this all the time. Most of the understanding he once had is gone in regards to most subjects.
NancyB* - what a revelation! It never occurred to me that my DH was looking at my finger & not what I was pointing at, but that is EXACTLY what he does. Thanks for pointing that out. See, that is just another example of things you can learn here. God bless you all!
even in late stage 7, i have to pick up whatever i am showing DH and put it right in front of his vision and tap on it fo rhim to see it. otherwise he wouldnt focus on what i am referring to. the pointed finger syndrome. they see past it into an invisible space it seems. visual perceptions go early.
Does it seem to anyone else that our AD spouses defy statistical probability when it comes to going in the wrong direction? In other words, we come out of a theater aisle (or something,) and need to walk right to exit. There should be a 50/50 chance he'll go right or left, since his directional abilities are dysfunctional. But I would say that 90% of the time, he picks the wrong direction.
When we come out of our apartment we turn right to get to the elevator. At least 90% of the time DW turns left, even though I correct her each time - 2-3 times a day!!!!!
emily--I have noticed that exact thing and mentioned it to his neuro, out of curiosity. No explanation; it struck me as weird, about 99 percent of this time here he goes the wrong way. Even at the movies, he will try to exit the theater by climbing UP the stairs rather than down to the exit level. I agree that if they are purely guessing, there should be more instances when they will get it right just by chance.
Today we had lunch at Punk's Backyard Grill, somewhere we frequent in Annapolis. Daughter Becca was with us. When entering, you first go into a sort of glass-enclosed, L-shaped antechamber, then you turn left and enter the restaurant.
Becca goes through the second door, I go through the second door. Rather than following, Jeff gets stuck at the glass wall, feeling for a doorway. So I go back, and lead him around the L. Becca says, "Are you trying to be a mime?" Jeff remained in good humor but totally did not get the joke.
For the last little while, DH has called the binoculars, "those things that we look through." We have a hill behind our house and we always see deer and moose on it. He looks out the window a lot at the hill. Last night, he actually asked if I had seen the "binoculars." I did a double take because he hasn't used the actual word for a while. He also calls his fork "a thing that we eat with." I know that he knows what a fork is but he never asks for it by name.
When we go to get in our van I ALWAYS have to tell my DH to go to the other side. EVERY TIME! He never knows where to get in the van. Today I realized that I will probably have to make sure he gets in before I go around to my side. I pointed to his side of the van as I went around to my side. As I got in my side I saw him try to open the door of the vehicle beside us. I had to hurry up & get out & tell him he was trying to open the wrong door. He didn’t have a clue.
Elaine...we've been dealing with that car thing you describe for 2 years. Not only can he not find the right door (or the right car,) but he can't tell the door handle from the side view mirror. Nowadays I just always walk him to the correct door and make sure he's got the handle before I go around.
This has been a problem at our house lately also. Have to keep an eye on him when we're out. He gets turns around in a store and can't find his way out , has tried to get into the wrong car several times, and if he uses the restroom at a restaurant, he has trouble finding his way back to the table. How do we handle the restroom problem? Should we both leave the table and I wait outside the door for him? Divvi, we could all use some information on how you managed to take your DH with you everywhere.
Yes Dazed...he can only go to the restroom by himself if he's very familiar with the place or there's only one way out so I can grab him. Anywhere else I have to accompany him and wait just outside. Not only so he doesn't get lost, but also to check the zipper! Every once in a while "family" or handicap restrooms are available, and these are a help.
dazed thats exactly what i did. left the table and took him into the bathroom or waited outside. with all the noise and people they can tend to get upset and disorientated easily as you will find. trying to navigate back thru a maze of tables and voices can leave them exhausted, not to mention you waiting on them to return. and as far as cars, be very careful, mine had a very bad habit of getting out of the car as soon as i would leave him. even for a few minutes to get an rx or gas. he could be gone in a flash looking for me, or worse i found him sitting in someones car that he found unlocked. this can pose a problem as i remember once a lady from the supermarket was very disturbed to see him sitting in her car thinking he was trying to steal her vehicle. so take precautions, it could lead to consequences if they are left unattended and get into trouble. i resorted to sitting him in the back seat with seat belt secured and child locks on doors if i had to make a run into store for even 2 minutes. they don not understand 'wait here' or i;ll be right back. it becomes a chore at some point to try to find creative ways to take them out. if i had it to do over again, i would have hired an aide to come with us to offer some assistance earlier on to help keep an eye on him divvi
MyDH was a pilot. He also knew all the short cuts to places and taught me the best routes. I paid attention to most of it but wish now I had paid attention to all of it. He always did the driving..would not let me...not the macho thing to do you know. Now while he knows how to get to one of his doctors 25 minutes down the freeway, he gets the doctors mixed up. So if he were to go alone to Dr A he would head to south on the freeway when Dr A is here in town.. He will get turned around just going to his favorite fish joint..
I cannot tell you how often he says " I'm glad you know where to go".
I think one of the early signs, which I missed, was when I would be telling him something and he would continue to read the paper or be distracted and I would get impatient and say " LISTEN TO ME for the umpteenth time.