Dementia from the Inside

Dr Jennifer Bute is a distinguished former General Practitioner, and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. In 2009 she was diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and has since then tracked the progress of her condition, speaking frequently in public and gaining a wide following. Her [...]
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Dr Jennifer Bute is a distinguished former General Practitioner, and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. In 2009 she was diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and has since then tracked the progress of her condition, speaking frequently in public and gaining a wide following. Her primary conviction is that living with faith in Jesus means there is joy, even in dementia. But what does it feel like to have dementia, and what can help?"Jennifer Bute was a highly qualified senior doctor in a large clinical practice, whose patients included those with dementia. Then she began to notice symptoms in herself. She was finally given a diagnosis of Young Onset Dementia in 2009.Jennifer believes that her dementia is an opportunity as well as a challenge. When she resigned as a GP, she resolved to explore what could be done to slow the progress of dementia, and to help people living with it. Inspired by the work of neuroscientist Professor Kawashima that showed significant cognitive recovery in patients with dementia, she adopted the principles of his approach and has produced materials for the `Japanese Memory Groups' that she runs in the dementia inclusive village where she now lives. Jennifer is in demand as a speaker, both in secular and Christian settings. Her important insights are that the person remains and can be reached even when masked by the condition, and that spirituality rises as cognition becomes limited.