For example, people with dementia say that they are spoken to more loudly, that they are talked about in front of them or that they are not seen as ‘full’. “And they may think that is even worse than the illness itself,” says The. As an anthropologist, she starts a conversation and hears many stories from people with dementia themselves. She recently gave an inaugural lecture on this subject. The core of this is that dementia is more than just a terrible disease.
Bias
According to The, friends, family, and even healthcare professionals forget that people with dementia still have human needs, such as having meaningful relationships or making a difference. “They tell me that they are not only suffering from a brain defect, but also from being looked down at or perceived as ‘pathetic’,” says The.
However, a solution to that problem is not so easy. “It requires people to be aware of their own deep-seated prejudices. In general, we want the best for people with dementia. And we also think: ‘They are sick’. But it is very difficult to put those prejudices aside.”
Insecure
And that is why there needs to be more awareness, says the professor. “The voice of people with dementia must be heard. The behavior of those people is not only caused by that disease, but also by how we treat them. If all of a sudden your whole environment talks to your partner and not to you anymore, or someone silences when you enter, then you really don’t feel more comfortable. That makes you insecure.”
Social approach
In the movie Untouchables she sees the good example, a social approach to someone with paralysis in this case. “You see that he is wasted because everyone thinks he is pathetic. And by doing nice things with Driss, a man who does not judge him for who he is, you see that the paralyzed man revives.” And according to The, that is exactly the social approach that people with dementia also need