{"id":20,"date":"2026-10-15T15:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T14:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt-new\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2026-10-15T15:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T14:24:38","slug":"trouble-remembering","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/resources\/communication\/trouble-remembering\/","title":{"rendered":"Trouble remembering"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Forgetting recent conversations or events<\/h2>\n<p>People with dementia may find it difficult to remember recent conversations, events, appointments, or plans. This is because the condition can affect how new memories are formed and stored.<\/p>\n<p>It is important to remember that the person is not being difficult or deliberately forgetful. They may genuinely feel as though they are hearing the information for the first time.<\/p>\n<h3>Tips for supporting someone with memory difficulties<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid telling the person they have already been told something.<\/li>\n<li>Consider whether it really matters if they remember a recent conversation or event. Correcting them may cause frustration or distress.<\/li>\n<li>Establish a regular daily routine to make activities more predictable and easier to remember.<\/li>\n<li>Encourage the use of a diary, journal, or photo album to record important events and experiences.<\/li>\n<li>Use prompts and context rather than testing memory. For example, ask, &#8220;It must be a while since breakfast. Are you hungry?&#8221; instead of &#8220;Have you had breakfast?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Use reminders such as calendars, sticky notes, labels, or notes placed in helpful locations.<\/li>\n<li>Consider assistive technology, such as calendar clocks or reminder devices.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on one topic at a time and avoid giving too much information at once.<\/li>\n<li>Keep information clear, simple, and repeat it when needed.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce distractions such as background noise.<\/li>\n<li>Offer limited choices, for example, &#8220;Would you like tea or coffee?&#8221; rather than &#8220;What would you like to drink?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Struggling to find the right word<\/h2>\n<p>People with dementia may sometimes struggle to find the right word during conversation. They may also have difficulty remembering the names of people or everyday objects.<\/p>\n<p>They might:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use the wrong word for something.<\/li>\n<li>Know the word they want to say but be unable to recall it.<\/li>\n<li>Forget the meaning of certain words.<\/li>\n<li>Forget the names of familiar people.<\/li>\n<li>Forget the names of common objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These difficulties can make conversations challenging, but there are ways to help.<\/p>\n<h3>Tips for supporting conversation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Give the person time to find the word they want to use.<\/li>\n<li>Use the context of the conversation to help understand what they are trying to say.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce background noise and other distractions.<\/li>\n<li>Choose times of day when the person feels most alert and comfortable.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid rushing them or putting them under pressure.<\/li>\n<li>Try not to finish sentences for them unless they ask for help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>When someone forgets names<\/h2>\n<p>Forgetting names of people or objects can be upsetting, but gentle support can help.<\/p>\n<h3>Helpful approaches<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Give subtle prompts, such as: &#8220;Here&#8217;s our neighbour, Bill.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Avoid drawing attention to forgotten names by quizzing or testing the person.<\/li>\n<li>Remember that tiredness, stress, and anxiety can make memory problems worse.<\/li>\n<li>If the person is comfortable with it, encourage others to introduce themselves when they meet.<\/li>\n<li>Use prompts, context, and visual cues to help identify people and objects.<\/li>\n<li>Consider creating a memory book or memory box containing photographs and brief information about important people.<\/li>\n<li>Choose quieter environments when possible, as busy places can make communication more difficult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forgetting recent conversations or events People with dementia may find it difficult to remember recent conversations, events, appointments, or plans&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/21"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/aslt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}