We talk A LOT in dementia care about how dementia changes a person. Often it’s distilled down into very negative language, and bracketed as ‘challenging behaviour’ (a phrase I dislike immensely). Yet, the spectrum of change is immense, very personal…
Tag: expression
Harnessing the power of observation
I feel very strongly that one of the most important attributes anyone providing care and support to a person with dementia can have is the ability to observe. In our helter-skelter, multi-tasking lives it’s easy to lose the quietly reflective…
A precious gift
I’ve often thought about what the most precious gift is that you could give a person with dementia in the absence of a cure. I’ve written before about the importance of love, but I suspect that if I asked a…
Getting to the heart of unmet needs
Interpreting what someone with advancing dementia needs can often feel like a bit of a guessing game. If the person with dementia is struggling to articulate their needs and wishes in a way that the intended recipient of their communication…
Amour
There is something universal about the language of love. Across the world we may have many different words for it but the meaning remains the same, and most importantly of all the endless ways of demonstrating it transcend barriers. There…
Being a pain detective
One of the questions I’m asked a lot in relation to dementia care is around how we find out if someone is in pain. In advanced dementia, when potentially a person cannot articulate clearly if they are in pain, and…
Turning the air blue
Many families who have a loved one living with dementia will know the moment only too well when a perfectly innocent greeting, question, conversation or even silence is broken by a swear word that prior to their loved one’s dementia…
Understanding aggression
Like so many dementia symptoms, aggression is often misunderstood, leading to inappropriate interventions. It is popular to portray people with dementia as angry and out of control, aggressive and unmanageable, frightening and dangerous. Extreme examples of aggression that lead to…
Advocacy and dementia – A vital partnership
Dementia poses many challenges for those living with it or those caring for someone with it, not least getting their voice heard. Our wishes, views, needs and preferences are fundamental to our lives, but dementia can begin to erode our…
Let’s talk about dementia – Love
Welcome to the sixth of my seven ‘mini’ blogs for UK Dementia Awareness Week 2013. They are all themed around talking about dementia, exploring different aspects of conversation from the point of view of people who are living with dementia, carers…
Don’t ignore me
Everyone with dementia has the right to expression, yet a lot of dementia care still focuses on imposing the will of the care provider on the person, rather than assessing what the person themselves actually wants. Even people with an…
