Jo Glanville, a journalist and radio producer, recounts how reading aloud to her parents, both of whom suffered from dementia, revealed that their cognitive abilities were not entirely lost. Her mother, Pamela, died of vascular dementia ten years ago, and her father, football journalist and novelist Brian Glanville, died last year after living with Parkinson's and a milder form of dementia for five years.
Glanville describes the initial difficulty in communicating with her parents, but a discovery through reading changed her perspective. She found that both parents continued to enjoy being read to until the end of their lives, responding positively to stories, poems, and novels. They retained the ability to comprehend and follow a narrative, and even knew the meaning of obscure words. On one occasion, her father noticed she was not reading Arthur Koestler's memoirs chronologically, something she had not realised herself.
However, neither parent could communicate their desire to be read to. Her father would sit silently, unable to move or initiate conversation, appearing 'vacant' to outsiders. Glanville observed that Parkinson's and dementia had robbed him of the ability to initiate communication, but when family or his care worker engaged him, he could connect. Reading aloud became a key bridge, revealing sophisticated cognitive function unaffected by dementia.
Glanville emphasises that one must never assume silence or uncommunicativeness means a person with dementia cannot understand or engage. She cites case studies from The Reader charity, showing reading aloud can trigger fluency and communication in people with dementia. Philip Davis at the University of Liverpool concluded that reading aloud significantly reduces symptom severity and contributes to wellbeing.
While acknowledging that severe degeneration like Alzheimer's may eventually make connection impossible, Glanville argues that 'death' only comes when someone physically ceases to function. She believes people with dementia need advocates to oppose assisted dying, as there are still pleasures and connections to be made even as the world dims.
