It can be difficult sometimes to know what to do, what to say and how to help people with dementia and their caregivers.
For this reason, I thought that it might be helpful to share some of the lessons that I have learned over the last 30 years, drawing on my own professional experience in caring for people with dementia.
The aim of the pocket guide is to provide sensible and easy-to understand advice on how best to interact effectively with people with dementia and their families and most importantly how to communicate positively with them. The guide also includes some advice and tips on assessment and on what I have found to be helpful to do or say in difficult circumstances.
When I started to write this dementia guide, I had doctors in mind as the target audience but I think that many of the topics will also be of interest to other health care professionals and to family members of people with dementia.
I hope that these ‘bite-sized’ pieces of information will help you to interact in ways that are rewarding for both you and for the person with dementia, whether you are the treating doctor, a health care professional or a family member involved in their care.
Authors
Brian Lawlor, MD, FRCPI, FRCPsych
Site Director, Trinity College Dublin
