I make no apologies for being something of a salesman for the work of Teepa Snow.  She advocates that carers need to become circumspect and try to look behind the communication of their loved one.  In short, Teepa suggests you need to become a detective.  So with Teepa’s suggestion in mind it is worth reviewing a kitchen sink conversation this morning…….

There I am washing the dishes when M asks out of the blue: ‘when are you back in school?’  I think about her question for a while and she follows it up with: ‘how long are the holidays these days?’  I mumble something that I hope is appropriate and move onto a tea cup.  There are a couple of problems for me here, but at 69 I rule out that M thinks I am still a pupil.  What I am not clear about is if she considers I am still Supply Teaching or we are back working together in a Community College many years ago?

Teepa discusses ‘time travelling’ extensively in her approach to dementia.  My detective skills need honing as it is not always clear to me where M is in her life cycle.  It is possible that she remembers me while I still had colour in my hair.  Clearly on some  occasions she has no idea who I am or what she is doing with me in this house.  This is all extremely difficult as getting it wrong can create  havoc.  It’s almost as if I need to work out who M thinks I am before I respond to anything.  I think I will have to put that DVD on again and see if I can hone up my investigative skills just a little more.