Looking Ahead

In Sunday's Guardian was an eye-opening column by Jo Glanville about caring for two parents with dementia.

"A great revelation for me in caring for my parents was a discovery I made through reading to them – that in some respects, their brains were unimpaired.  Both continued to enjoy being read to until the end of their lives. They responded positively to hearing stories, poems and novels throughout their illnesses. They retained their ability to comprehend and follow a story, as well as their knowledge of the meaning of obscure words."

I don't recall before coming across such an assertion about how one might help in caring for someone with dementia.  I'm going to look around now to see if I can find some additional sources of information on the subject. I'm thinking the literature about end-of-life and hospice may be a good place to start.

What is implied, but not specifically stated in Glanville's narrative is that sessions of reading aloud are also very likely to be a source of relief and accomplishment for the caregiver.  
 

Imagine sitting alone in a room with someone who is unresponsive to conversation or other stimulus.  How long would you endure such a scenario in the absence of an action plan?  

Maybe an hour or two of reading aloud would be as much as you could manage. However, if a book was chosen with appeal to both parties it is likely that you would be ready for another session before long.

What is also implied in the story is that it may be important to consider that understanding and responsiveness should likely be considered as separate processes.  Just because someone may not be able to show some outward sign of comprehension does not mean that there is a lack of inner understanding.  In fact, not jumping to the wrong conclusion may open a way toward picking up subtle cues of what is going on that otherwise might be overlooked.

Is the suggested reading activity well suited to anyone?  Maybe not.  If the person in earlier times disliked  reading, perhaps subjecting them to lengthy reading sessions would be more like torture than therapy.  So, perhaps other activities might be found to be more suitable.  It is worth some thought.