Before we can truly connect with people living with dementia, it helps to pause and think about which lines we usually travel on – logic, memory, context, or emotion. This activity – which can be found in your workbook – is designed to help you identify which lines you tend to travel on – and how that shapes your interactions with others. This will help you to recognize when you’re expecting people living with dementia to follow your lead and take the steps to travel with them.
Take your time with it; you don’t need to finish everything right away. The questions invite deeper reflection that can be challenging and evolve over time. As you work through it, you’ll begin to see how understanding your own pathways can bridge the gap – not only with people living with dementia, but with anyone who thinks or communicates differently.
Before you begin, you might find it useful to read the descriptions of each thinking route (they are also written in your workbook):