Welcome to the first 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,…
Tag: families
Reflections on a life lived and a man loved
It seems hard to believe that April 2013 marks two very sad milestones for me and my family. This month will see us celebrating my dad’s birthday for the first time without him here. Less than two weeks later, it…
Trouble with the language
How we talk about dementia, and people with dementia, is a thorny issue. It is easy to be accused of being politically correct, or losing sight of the real issues by getting hung up on the language we use to…
Joined-up thinking
When I last wrote about social care funding (Why are we waiting?), I implored our policy makers to produce a workable solution to end the uncertainty many people face about how they will pay for care. The recent announcement by…
Part 1) When a label isn’t enough
***This is a two part blog post*** Early diagnosis of dementia is becoming a hot topic in the UK, with a multitude of different approaches including a campaign to increase the numbers of people seeking help, and proposals to screen…
Part 2) When a label isn’t enough
***This is a two part blog post*** Please read: Part 1) When a label isn’t enough Regardless of how much the government needs clear statistics of exactly how many people have dementia in the UK, presumably so that they can…
In sickness and in health
Through my work I am very privileged to meet and chat with people whose day-to-day life revolves around caring for someone with dementia or living with it themselves. Why ‘privileged’ you might wonder? Simply because having walked this path with…
My dementia wish list
Welcome to 2013, the beginning of another new year and no doubt another set of targets for the tick box culture in health and social care. 2013 promises to be an important time for dementia, with the need to build…
Christmases past and present
I think for most people Christmas is about the many traditions we each have for celebrating the festive season. For the last nine years our family traditions were modified to fit in with my dad’s life in care – this…
Sense and simplicity
One of the many positive things to come out of the increase in dementia awareness is the focus on how we provide the best possible care for people living with dementia. The importance of training for everyone involved in dementia…
Good to talk?
Having had 19 years of first-hand experience with dementia, I always find it very interesting listening to other people talking about it. By far the most powerful accounts are, for me, those that come from people who are living with dementia,…
