How We Perceive People Living with Dementia
Our perceptions of people living with dementia matter. I recently saw a post on my neighborhood app by someone referring to his neighbor as a “dementia patient.”
In the context of a physician, the person is a “patient,” but to everyone else, the person is a person. Family members will often refer to their loved one as a “patient,” reinforcing their belief the person is sick rather than living with a disability.
The person living with dementia remains your friend or family member even if the person transitions into assisted living or another community and is only a patient to the doctor or nurses. The person is a person, not a patient, when you are a friend or family member.
To help break the stigma of any disability, I will take advantage of an opportunity for “teachable moments.” I typically don’t engage in starting controversy online, but this seemed like a teachable moment when we see people with dementia. I politely commented to give insight into the perception, and his response was emphatic, “I don’t care.” I let that one go.
Closed minded people don’t want to see other viewpoints. This is why it is so important for all of us to educate, advocate and encourage others to see people living with dementia as a person; a grandmother, brother, father, mother, sister, or friend.