Episode #101. The gifts from dementia. A revolutionary approach to care with Judy Cornish. Using mindlessness and intuitive thinking.

Imagine knowing that if you get dementia everyone around you knows how to take care of you. This is gift from dementia and care with dignity. 

Did you know the Inuit see dementia as a gift. Judy Cornish does as well. Judy is asking us to become more human. 

People in Idaho have been gifted the intuitive talents of Judy Cornish, an attorney turned dementia care revolutionary. She created the Dawn method that allows people to have dementia with dignity. She worked out how to see past dementia and provide the best care possible for people with dementia.
 
 This is one of the beautiful conversations with a human that I love. 

Judy Cornish is talented in her understanding of people. She calls this intuitive versus rational thinking skills. Not only has she developed a method but has trained many caretakers in how to understand what is going on inside the mind of someone with dementia.

 She's the author and founder of dementia and Alzheimer's wellbeing network and creator of the Dawn method of dementia care, and a retired elder care lawyer attorney.

The two gifts are intuitive thinking and mindlessness.

 Because we value rational cognitive skills and ignore intuitive thinking we lose sight of how to communicate with people that are losing their rational thinking skills and memory skills. 

 Judy sees one the gift is being able to use your intuitive thinking skills, which are your inductive, just receiving of information from the five senses and this is what enables you to experience the present, which is the main purpose of becoming more mindful, and to enjoy the present.  This is what Judy Cornish uncovered taking care of her friends who are experiencing dementia are so good at. 

 Judy discusses the value of mindlessness, when people are losing their ability to use rational thinking or memory skills, then they rely on the tools of mindlessness to function at a higher level. And that would be automatic thinking scripts and muscle memory. 

Judy discovered that when our companions, friends or loved ones, or client are experiencing dementia, they are inviting us to turn it all off and come live in the present. Enjoy beauty and companionship.

 She says: “It exists here in the present, everything that is possibly beautiful to me and of course that's ever so personal, be music, you know, one type of music might bring tears to my eyes of joy and it might bring tears of pain to yours. It's very personal colour, nature, thing, the smells, all of that is beauty. And all of that is available here in the present. So Oh, when the Inuit talk about the gift, I think it truly is”

 Please enjoy this podcast from a beautiful and fabulous Judy Cornish that made me believe that we are good people.

You can find Judy and her method at the following link.
https://thedawnmethod.com/creator-judy-cornish/
From her website:

"The DAWN Method® is a kind, strength-based, person-centered approach to caring for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s. In this article we will cover what dementia is and who it affects, the stages of dementia, and then we will introduce the DAWN Method of strength-based, person-centered dementia care. Our goal is to help you understand dementia as well as give you an introduction to a method of dementia care that will decrease stress for caregivers as well as for those experiencing dementia."

"Judy Cornish is an author, founder of the Dementia & Alzheimer’s Wellbeing Network (DAWN®), creator of the DAWN Method® of dementia care, and a retired elder law attorney. Her two books (