Reasoning with someone who has Alzheimers

One of the ways Alzheimers Disease and other dementias affect someone is the loss of what is called executive function--the ability to plan and execute tasks, reasoning, and judgment. So often when caregivers try to reason with somone with Alzheimer's, they are not successful, because the person does not have the ability to reason.

But they don't lose all of their reasoning ability at once, and often things will make sense, but it has to make sense in the world that they inhabit. Reasons and explanations have to fit where they are. Different days, different reasons may make sense.

Keep reasons simple.
Make them as concrete as possible
Listen to what the person is hearing
Re-direct and talk about something else if the reasoning is not working.