Caring for a parent with dementia, at home in Riyadh
The hardest part is not the forgetting. It is the moment your mother looks at you and is not sure who you are, and you have to decide what to say next.
Signs it may be time for help
- 1
The same question, several times in one conversation.
- 2
Medication taken twice, or not at all.
- 3
The stove left on, or the front door left open.
- 4
Confusion and agitation that arrive in the late afternoon and stay into the evening.
- 5
She has stopped washing, or stopped changing her clothes, and does not want to talk about it.
What care at home actually looks like
She arrives at the same time every morning, and she is the same person every morning. That matters more than anything else on this page.
She does not correct your mother. If your mother says her sister is coming today, the answer is that it will be nice to see her — not that her sister died in 2011. Correcting is what starts the fight.
Breakfast is what your mother has always had, in the chair she has always sat in, with the radio on. Washing happens at the hour she is calmest, never on a schedule that suits us.
In the difficult hours, when the light changes and the agitation comes, she sits with her. Sometimes that is all it is — sitting, talking about Ta'if, letting it pass without a struggle.
Before she leaves she writes down what happened, so nobody has to guess tomorrow.
How our carers are trained for this
Redirecting instead of correcting
How to answer a question that has no true answer, without an argument.
The late-afternoon hours
Recognising the pattern, and calming it before it escalates.
Keeping the routine intact
The same order, the same chair, the same words. Familiarity is the treatment.
Safety at home
The stove, the door, the stairs and the bathroom — quietly, without making the house feel like a hospital.
What it costs
It depends on how many hours a day and whether your mother needs a trained caregiver or a licensed nurse. The home assessment is free, and you get a written number the same day.
Book a free assessmentWhat families ask us
You don't have to decide today
Talk it through with our coordinator. Nothing is booked unless you want it.