The question then is, what is dementia? 

Dementia is NOT the whole person

Before anything else, it is helps to remember something important.

Dementia is a condition and does not define the whole person.

As argued by the Alzheimer’s Society, (2024) dementia is a human condition affecting identity, relationships and quality of life in which language plays a vital role in ensuring the wellbeing of such a person living with dementia.

Alzheimer’s Society (2024) also suggest that words are never ‘just words” when caring for a person living with dementia. Such words spoken become part of the emotional environment the person living with dementia inhabits.  

In conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and some dementias where memory and reasoning gradually decline, the ability to interpret tone and emotional meaning often remains intact for longer. This creates a profound imbalance where the person living with dementia may forget what was said, but not how those words made them feel. Such interpretations of language emotionally studies show sticks longer.