Kate Swaffer
When it comes to identifying the things that have the power to annoy, hinder or offend someone coping with dementia, Kate Swaffer should know.
Not prepared to accept that life was over when she was diagnosed with dementia , this 57 year old Australian mum-of-2 has spent the last 8 years turning herself into a prominent campaigner, international speaker, PhD academic, and published author.
Not bad, considering she was advised by medics simply to give up her job, put an end to her studies, get her affairs in order, and enjoy the time she had left.
Kate has semantic dementia - a rare form of frontotemporal dementia which affects the part of the brain that controls behaviour, language skills and movement.
Early symptoms, for her, included difficulty finding the correct word, no longer understanding what the word means, and difficulties recognising objects.
She passionately believes that her symptoms should be treated as disabilities that can be dealt with given appropriate support and understanding.
To this end, she has produced the following list to help people see things from her perspective and support her quest to assist others to live positively with their dementia.
Some of the points have generated argument from others...but from Kate's point of view they are valid. What's your view...?
Kate Swaffer writes a blog that is read by thousands of people every day, and earlier this year published a book entitled 'What the hell happened to my brain? Living beyond dementia'.
Click here to visit her website
Source: https://kateswaffer.com/2014/06/05/20-things-not-to-say-or-do-to-a-person-with-dementia/
