One of the aims of this event is to officially launch a booklet on re-thinking communication in advanced dementia that I have recently written with Dr Suzanne Zeedyk (Honorary Fellow of the University of Dundee). This book available from www.connectedbaby.net has grown out of my long-term collaboration with Arlene Astell, addressing the facilitation of communication in dementia.
This public lecture explores the communicative urge that is core to our humanity. Babies are born already able to relate to others, and human beings retain that ability throughout life, even in the advanced stages of dementia.
Dr Maggie Ellis (University of St Andrews) will discuss the cutting-edge science that is helping us recognise this ability in people coping with this illness. Her key argument will be that in order to help those with dementia stay in an active social world, we must 'learn to speak their language'.
The lecture will be of interest to a wide range of individuals, including those who love someone with dementia, carry out a professional caring role, or have an interest in the innate communicative capacities of human beings.
The lecture features as one of the Launch Events for the new initiative, connected baby, founded by Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk (Honorary Fellow, University of Dundee), which aims to help all of us better appreciate the power of emotional connection in our everyday lives.
