It’s Time To Expand Our Views

By Lori La Bey founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks

It is a common statement to hear someone say, “When you’ve met one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia.”  I believe we need to expand this statement and also understand and accept that “Once you’ve met one care partner, you’ve met one care partner and that each and every environment we are in with a person with dementia is constantly changing.”  Nothing is a given.  We must be prepared for that.  We must develop a toolkit which can offer fluid and spontaneous tools to shift perceptions and reactions to care.  It it time to stop being limited by our fear of failure and instead switch to an attitude that we should be afraid of not trying!

My personal motto is, “It’s about progress, not perfection.”  We waste an awful lot of time, energy and money trying to make something “perfect” or trying to be “personally perfect.”  I know I’ve been there and done that.  You most likely have too.  We need to embrace an attitude realizing that all we do, should always be changing to meet the varying needs of those with dementia and those caring for them. Once we realize things really don’t stay the same; it is easier to understand that in trying to be the same, sometimes we become stagnant. (I’m not saying here that routine isn’t good, as it can be great! I’m talking about allowing and giving permission for things to adjust) I believe we become ineffective thinking we have it all figured out.  Ask anyone who lost their 1st place status… it usually happens when we get too comfortable.  We must always be looking for new needs, new ways.

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