As well as making an advance decision, you might have made or be thinking about making a Lasting power of attorney (LPA) for health and welfare. 

Read our advice on how to make an advance decision if you have dementia, who you should talk to about it, and what to include when writing it.

Advance decisions can be used to refuse treatment when you no longer have capacity. Find out if they are legally binding, why you might make one, what treatments you can refuse, and what an advance decision cannot do.

When you have dementia, planning ahead may include writing an advance decision or advance statement. You can use these to make decisions about care and treatment in the future. 

This handbook is for anyone who is caring for a person with dementia. It will help you suggest enjoyable and engaging activities for the person you’re caring for.

If a person is finding any kind of conversation too difficult, they may use non-verbal communication. As dementia progresses, this may become the main way a person communicates. You might find these tips for communicating non-verbally useful.

When a person is diagnosed with dementia they may not understand or accept their diagnosis. This may be because the person is in denial, or because they have what is known as ‘lack of insight’.

Friends or family members, including those who are caring for the person, can also be in denial and find a dementia diagnosis difficult to accept.

Trying to get help and support can be difficult when someone doesn’t understand or acknowledge that they have dementia. But support and care at home can help a person to stay independent for longer and to live well with dementia. 

Coping with lack of insight or denial can be very difficult. Here are practical tips for supporting a person with denial or lack of insight, including support for friends and family.

Denial and lack of insight are different. They can both cause a person with dementia not to understand or accept their diagnosis.