Rummaging and hoarding are common behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Although these actions may seem random and meaningless to the frustrated caregiver, rummaging actually serves a purpose in the middle stages of dementia. You won’t be able to stop the behavior but understanding what’s behind it may make it easier for you to cope with it.
I found a great description of what is happening on the blog The Dementia Queen.
“In the middle stages, rummaging is largely a coping mechanism for language deficits and the need to be repetitive. Once speech and comprehension skills decline, a person in the middle stages has to find another way to interact with the environment. Using her hands to explore the world is simply a function of survival- if she can’t tell you that she is hungry, then she will just start searching for food herself. Repetitive actions, such as pacing and saying the same word or phrase over and over again, is usually a behavior used by the person to relieve anxiety and search for reassurance.
It is also the case that people with Alzheimer’s in the moderate stage need to have meaning in their lives. They need to do something other than sit. They need to have control over something – because throughout their lives, they engaged in meaningful action to one or another degree and had some control over what they did or didn’t do.”
There are many websites with tips on how to approach caregiving for someone with dementia. HelpGuide.org is one of them.
