You are normal : negotiating personhood within an adult day program for older adults with dementia

Perceptions and definitions of dementia vary depending on the sociocultural context. In the United States, a hypercognitive society, dementia is associated with a complete loss of the western notion of personhood, a view that the dominant biomedical model of dementia promotes. Using Grace Harriss distinctions between individual, self, and person (1989) and Thomas Kitwoods explanation of Positive Person Work (1997), this paper explores the ways in which staff within an adult day program make an effort to uphold the personhood of the members while simultaneously being influenced by the dominant view that equates dementia with a loss of personhood. This study illustrates how those with dementia problematize western perceptions of personhood, making it difficult for staff at adult day programs to always maintain the personhood of program attendees. The study is placed in a larger sociological and anthropological context, considering the appropriateness of Cartesian?based thought, taboos, and classificatory systems for understanding individuals with dementia in terms of personhood