Changing the conversation: from suffering with dementia through dementia as a disability rights issue, to a deeper theological perspective.

In this paper I explore how the conversation has changed from ‘suffering with’ to ‘living well’ with dementia. Under the influence of disability studies, notably the social model of disability, attempts have been made to expunge the language of suffering from the dementia experience and to focus instead on human rights and enabling choice. These attempts have been subject to some criticism. I argue that a theological perspective, primarily though not exclusively seen through the writing of Pope John Paul II, can help to do justice to both living well and the realities of suffering in dementia.