look past the annoying acronyms and style, this REALLY works
I agree 100% with SBA..... Please don't dismiss SPECAL - it works, it is worth taking time and effort (and perhaps cost) to understand properly, and its real main points - not the 'commandments' but its underlying principles - are incredibly useful to people with dementia relatives/clients, at any stage.
Like many on this thread, I was extremely sceptical and very irritated by some of the things which the book appears to say. But I like to think I'm open-minded, and since I live close to the centre, recently went on a SPECAL course in case it could help a newly diagnosed relative.
Look past the annoying OJames style, the apparent infantilisation of dementia/Alzheimer's sufferers (SPECAL really does not do that, but I agree, it looks as if the book recommends it!), the many ways in which the method and its practitioners can raise hackles. What readers may see on the surface, just isn't true - SPECAL is a victim of its own attempts to summarise the whole thing in a nutshell, when in fact, though easy to understand when properly led through it, it is quite complex and counter-intuitive.
I think the reason it's complex is that it's hard for non-sufferers to understand that we can't push information into someone with dementia - if they have a blank, we can't fill it. Nor can we force their memories to access something which due to stress isn't being retrieved at the moment (a common dementia problem). So trying to argue somebody with dementia round simply doesn't work. We can't push them into our world view, so we do have to join theirs (ie not contradict), and then find a way to show them what they need to do (eg go to hospital) with whatever explanation they feel is acceptable. It may appear to be deceptive, but some kind of deception is going to be necessary when a sufferer simply cannot see the world as it really is.
The actual system is incredibly empowering, for both dementia sufferer and family/carers, and can be applied at any stage. Sadly, I think you need the full course sessions to understand that properly and to see how it can help, however recent the start of the dementia. However, it is even worth a trip to another country to do it. Interestingly, having done the course, I'm now managing to explain it quite well to other family members. I'm a scientist, cynical, and very definitely no kind of evangelical convert. But I would now say, having looked into it properly, that SPECAL works, 100%.
To take the AS statements of what sufferers want -
1. "I have personal choice and control/influence" etc.
SPECAL doesn't remove that choice, but offers a way to help sufferers cope without getting stressed, when the real world and their memory clash so badly that they can't make a genuine choice. And, what is not said in the book, is that once you've properly understood dementia and how you can detect stress points, you CAN offer straight choices, as long as you stay alert to whether it's creating worry.
2. I know that services are designed around me and my needs.
It might look as if the book recommends that the SPECAL 'theme' is chosen for the sufferer, ie imposed on them. In fact as I can now see from the course, it's our job to find out what the most important theme is to the sufferer - needs a lot of detective work. Could not be more designed around them.
3. I have support that helps me live my life.
No-brainer, that's exactly what this method does. Contrary to appearances, it does not insist that somebody else lives the sufferer's life for them.
4. I have the knowledge and know-how to get what I need.
We have to be realistic. Once gaps become more frequent, a dementia sufferer simply cannot do some things for themselves (eg order items online, program the TV to record), especially if they learnt how to do those things relatively recently. And we can't fill the gap, no matter how many times we explain, or write it down. So we have to help, and that means what might look like interference, but is actually enabling. The important bit is the outcome: if the order is made, does it really matter whether the sufferer makes it (on a good day) or somebody else does (if the sufferer has forgotten how)?
5. I live in an enabling and supportive environment where I feel valued and understood.
When most of a memory is gaps, the only way to be valued is for the things that can be remembered. So we have to find out what is being remembered, and then show our value of the sufferer by allowing them to spend time thinking about those parts of their life, rather than trying to force them to recall what has been forgotten and will become increasingly irrelevant. That's the SPECAL approach in a nutshell.
6. I have a sense of belonging and being a valued part of a family, community and civic life.
Again, that doesn't clash at all with SPECAL, other than that it may not be feasible for dementia sufferers to continue being on committees or carrying out civic tasks once their condition makes it hard for them to link ideas together because there are too many memory gaps.
7. I know that there is research going on which delivers a better life.
Nobody's contradicting that, though a dementia sufferer is very likely to forget about it and thus to slowly stop caring about it!
Give SPECAL a try, and you might be pleased and surprised by the results.
