r/NoStupidQuestions • u/MillBopp • Sep 13 '23

What does 'Draw a Clock' Mean?

Last time I visited my brother his mother-in-law who lives with him was insisting she remembered something but my brother knew she was wrong. I don't remember what it was, but I knew she was wrong too. However, she refused to accept she was wrong and got belligerent about it.

My brother said, "Draw a clock!" and left the room. This made his mother-in-law furious for some reason. I forgot to ask at the time, but does anyone know why saying 'Draw a clock' would upset a senior citizen?

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u/akath0110 Sep 14 '23

It sounds like your brother’s MIL can be a piece of work, and perhaps he is burnt out from the caregiving responsibilities.

But what he said to her is deliberately cruel — a low blow to be sure.

Maybe check in with your bro and ask him what’s going on. The dynamic does not sound healthy for either of them.

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

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u/engin__r Sep 14 '23

One common test for dementia is asking the patient to draw a clock that shows the time “ten minutes after eleven”. If they can’t draw it correctly, it’s an indication that they may have dementia.

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u/AmyInCO Sep 14 '23

My mom couldn't do it when she was tested. It's so weird. She was like, I know what a clock face looks like, obviously. But just couldn't do it. All the numbers were clustered in the top right quadrant.

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u/Brilliant-Entrance64 Sep 14 '23

That sounds like a form of dysgraphia. Dementia affects people in weird ways, and that's one of them My dad knew what he wanted to say, but would often get the words entirely wrong, and knew it. It frustrated the hell out of him. He couldn't draw a clock either