Tips for caregivers, families of people with dementia

Dear Cari: My dad won’t answer his old cell phone or our land line, so I bought one of those “simpler” phones for him. He’s refusing to try this one, won’t even touch it. Why is he being so stubborn?

A: With dementia, as the aging brain shrinks, no new cells replace those that die off. Here’s something important to realize: Dementia sufferers are not able to learn new things. Your dad is not necessarily stubborn; he is impaired by his disease. He may also be embarrassed by this difficulty.