The Leveson Centre for the Study of Ageing,
Spirituality and Social Policy
Seeing the Person Beyond the Dementia
Papers presented at a Leveson Seminar
Review of Leveson Paper Number 8 by Daphne Wallace
Published by the Leveson Centre for the Study of Ageing, Spirituality
and Social Policy, 2004.
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This is a collection of three papers given at a seminar held at the
Leveson Centre in March 2004. Reading the papers makes me immediately
regret that I was unable to attend the seminar.
John Killick’s paper gives a helpful and succinct account of
the background to thinking on the PERSON with dementia. He spells
out the negative attitude embodied in much Western culture and then
goes on to outline a more positive approach. He suggests that we tend
to ignore the valuable contribution that the person with dementia
may be able to make to our thinking, in particular the awareness of
the importance of the present. In addition he highlights an intensity
of spiritual awareness.
He goes on to give examples of poems dictated to him which movingly
illustrate these points. He ends with quotations from people with
dementia talking about their continuing personhood. Throughout he
emphasises the importance of being open to communications from people
with dementia and suggests that the arts provide an important vehicle
for these.
The second paper from Gaynor Hammond describes her work with reminiscence
and people with dementia. In particular she describes the work of
the Faith in Elderly People (Leeds) Project and the Memory Box. An
amusing early experience of her own gives a striking introduction
and she then gives an account of the use of a Memory Box. She illustrates
this with her own box of memory cues which give a broad spectrum of
illustrations of the value of this type of communication.
Throughout her paper Gaynor Hammond’s sensitivity and intuitive
‘in-tune-ness’ are evident and the paper complements the
first in illustrating another method of improving communication with
those often deemed as incapable of meaningful interaction.
The third paper by Sally Knocker provides suggestions for facilitating
communication through activities. She makes an important point early
on. There is a danger of stereotyping activities with all elderly
people, especially those with dementia. Many such people want individual
human contact more than anything and Sally Knocker goes on to give
moving examples to emphasise this point.
Traditional group activities may be easier to facilitate but, as
she points out, most of us prefer to spend much of our time with a
small group or one other person. Her illustrations make this point
well and her suggestions are infinitely practicable.
All three contributors to this seminar emphasise the need of human
beings for contact with others and a sense of being loved as a person
in their own right. It is important to remember that in this respect
those with dementia are no different from the rest of us and their
papers serve to illustrate ways in which these needs can be met.
Daphne Wallace (Chair, CCOA Dementia Group) –
originally published in the CCOA Dementia Group Newsletter, October
2004
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