Carers’ responses to shifting identity in dementia inIrisandAway From Her: cultivating stability or embracing change?

Abstract

An emphasis on supporting and maintaining self-identity in dementia for as long as possible has gone hand in hand with the revitalisation of interventions, services and empowerment for people with dementia. However, recognition of the need for change, adaptation and personal growth is as necessary when living with dementia as at any other time in people's lives.Those who care for people with dementia must constantly navigate this tension between continuity and change within the context of memory loss, knowing when to respond by reinforcing the 'self' they have known over time, and when it may be better to respond by acknowledging the changes that have taken place. The creative arts are avenues for the exploration of the caring relationship under these conditions, conveying the challenges and stimulating audiences to ask themselves how they might choose to respond in a similar situation. This article considers how the scenarios of two noted films, Iris (dir. Richard Eyre, 2001 UK) and Away From Her (dir. Sarah Polley, 2006 Can), present the dilemmas of identity and care. In both, a husband cares for a wife experiencing cognitive decline, but responds differently in each to her shifting needs and changes in identity. We argue that the two films reveal complementary and provocative perspectives on this situation, and, though they offer no easy answers, provide insights into the dilemmas and decisions characteristic of caring for someone who has dementia.

Theatre production: a positive metaphor for dementia care-giving

“…However, this approach is not without its challenges, as demonstrated by these films produced in the early 2000s: Iris , Away From Her and The Iron Lady (Orr and Teo, 2015; Schweda, 2019). If we start from the assumption that every script is open to interpretation, the director's primary responsibility could be defined as articulating a vision for – and with – the person with dementia and any supporting cast.…”

Dementia and detectives: Alzheimer’s disease in crime fiction

“…Again, different readings are possible of this confluence between cognitive condition and genre: while some have pointed out that trying to understand the person with dementia overwhelmingly in terms of their past can actively work against their potential to participate fully in the present (Bartlett & O’Connor, 2010, pp. 21–23; Orr & Teo, 2015), it should be acknowledged that attempting to understand and validate apparently meaningless behaviours or utterances in the present by reference to the person’s biography and long-standing values forms an integral part of person-centred care (McLean, 2006). Seen in this light, one of the achievements of EiM is to present a vivid illustration, accessible for the broad readership to which crime fiction appeals, of why this biographical dimension is so important.…”

Recognition, collaboration and community: science fiction representations of robot carers inRobot & Frank,Big Hero 6andHumans

“…35. David M R Orr and Yugin Teo (2015), “Carers’ Responses to Shifting Identity in Dementia in Iris and Away From Her : Cultivating Stability or Embracing Change?” Medical Humanities 41, no. 2 (Dec 2015): 81–85, doi:10.1136/medhum-2014-010581.…”