Is word repetition normal?
The repetition of words is not unusual for a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or one of the related dementia. The gradual loss of language is variable and more profound in some dementia and earlier in the process for others. The words your memory-impaired (m-i)person chooses to repeat may have nothing to do with what he/she is thinking or feeling. It could be as simple as sounding familiar to the person and a need or desire for familiarity is a hallmark of AD. My husband used to repeat the words "ferbil" and "kerbish"; none of us in his immediate family recognized the words as having any pertinence to our life now or in past years and soon realized that he simply liked the sound of those syllables. These two 'words' were, for whatever unknown reason, easy for him to store and to recall. I'll hope the words your m-i person is using are pleasant ones! The words your memory-impaired (m-i)person chooses to repeat may have nothing to do with what he/she is thinking or feeling. It could be as simple as sounding familiar to the person and a need or desire for familiarity is a hallmark of AD. My husband used to repeat the words "ferbil" and "kerbish"; none of us in his immediate family recognized the words as having any pertinence to our life now or in past years and soon realized that he simply liked the sound of those syllables. These two 'words' were, for whatever unknown reason, easy for him to store and to recall. I'll hope the words your m-i person is using are pleasant ones!
