Rethinking Communication guide to advanced dementia

40 We may think if we can’t communicate with the aim of talking about something, there’s little point in talking to Jack at all. Those thoughts could be conscious or unconscious. If we have a history with Jack, we are likely to feel sad about such thoughts, precisely because we used to talk about lots of things. If we don’t have a personal history with Jack, we might not have any feelings at all. It can be hard to get a sense of Jack as a person if we can’t have a conversation that lets us get to know him. What if we asked ourselves this question: is this how I would think about a baby? Even if a baby couldn’t speak, would I still feel curious about their behaviour? Would I be open to discovering what their actions might mean? It is only because I see

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