title: Rights in Mind: Thinking Differently About Dementia and Disability.
abstract: The aim of this paper is to argue for the utility of a relational model of disability, as a way of conceptualizing dementia. We explore whether dementia should be considered as a disability, and whether people with dementia might consider themselves as disabled people. We review examples of, and issues raised by, the political activism of people with dementia. We consider how language constructs dementia negatively. We discuss how the environment influences the experience of dementia. In conclusion, we show that a relational model of dementia lays the basis for a human rights approach to the condition, based on collaborative partnerships between people with dementia and people from other disability communities.
authors.affiliation: University of East Anglia, UK.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shakespeare
authors.affiliation: University of the Arts London, UK.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeilig
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mittler
mesh_terms: D003704:Dementia; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004777:Environment; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans
keywords: activism; environmental barriers; human rights; models of disability