ABSTRACT

Kitwood and other writers on the subject of dementia both past and present have attempted to share their understanding of what it means first and foremost to be a person and of the subtlety and complexity that this brings to the caregiving process. The dementia 'experience' is influenced by the person's personality and their significant life history, current location, relationships and regimens. Although dementia presents uniquely and individually, ultimately the losses suffered by all those who experience the final stages of the syndrome are tremendous and lead to a state of high dependence on others and eventually to death - either through the effects of the disease process itself as in Alzheimer's disease or the effects of interconnected pathology. The social context within which people who live with dementia are cared for needs intrinsically to be one that encourages people with dementia to cope and to manage their lives in as useful a way as they possibly can.