NEW DAWN NEW DAY

There was a time in our history when it was believed that Epileptic seizures were a sign of demonic possession. A time when we believed that blood letting would purge the Humors of the body and cure afflictions. Yes, we can look back and shake our heads at how unbelievable that all seems. We laugh at that now. Yet today, in 2022, we still see videos posted of Persons Living With Dementia portraying them as disheveled, lost, confused, and with the temperament of an affronted hyena, and give the video a “thumbs up”, thanking the video creator/poster for valuable insight. We can’t assign shame to anyone who, upon viewing these Posts, may give a thumbs up thinking they’ve gained insight. The shame lies with those who create these erroneous caricatures and seek to profit from them by offering for-profit information on “how to deal with these behaviors”. These “behaviors” as they are called are Human reactions to an unmet Human need. We are all Human beings with the same Human needs, Dementia or not. I’ve seen videos which claim to delve into the mind of someone with Dementia”, yet there are over 120 different manifestations of Dementia and only one person acting in this video. Some types of Dementia incline memory loss, while others may not affect memory but disincline better decision making and social proprieties. No one on this planet has the same set of fingerprints, and no one experiences the challenges and successes of living with Dementia in the same way. Sometimes it isn’t what we know, but what we think we know that is the problem. There is no One Size Fits All approach to Dementia care.

Before we accept the authenticity of these presentations we should ponder the question, is this a scripted actor or does this care facility simply allow a video crew to sit and wait around to film the full face of a HIPPA protected resident who may happen to come along “lost and confused”. If in fact they do appear disheveled and upset, where were the caregivers for morning care? You see, it puts all involved in a bad light for the purpose of illustrating an erroneous point.

Thank you all for your continued interest in a better understanding of Dementia. Please take some time to visit the websites of some who are trying to get it right such as Dementia Australia, Dementia Alliance Group, and the Center For Applied Research in Dementia (cen4ard.com) to name just a few. Step into the light of this new awareness of Dementia and appropriately applied care. You’ll be amazed at how far we’ve come.