Terry Pratchett: Those of us with dementia need a little help from our friends

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/13/terry-pratchett-those-with-dementia-help-from-friends

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A few years ago, my novel Dodger took the reader back to times long gone to meet famous names of fact and fiction, and brought them together on a journey – ultimately – of chivalry. Enduring danger and peril, they chase a woman who needs saving and do their best to protect her. In the book, Dodger (who is based on Dickens's masterful portrayal of the original Artful Dodger) gets into a number of scrapes for Simplicity's sake. As a reward, we see him climb the social ladder of acceptance until, by the end of the book, he is honoured and revered.

Without appearing a curmudgeon, I worry that such kindness could be a thing of the past. As you may already know, I live with dementia. Unlike 800,000 people with a form of the condition, I struggle with a rarer type, which holds me back in ways I never thought possible. But what I do share with the hundreds of thousands living with this tricksy condition is disbelief at the stigma and shame still surrounding a disease that affects the brain and which can ultimately affect as many as one in three of us.

If you haven't already seen it, last week Public Health England and the Alzheimer's Society launched a TV campaign encouraging society to emulate my Dodger's valiant behaviour in their everyday lives. But there's a twist – it's for the benefit of people with dementia – a group of people who have been side-lined and ignored for far too long.

Dementia. The word itself describes shrinkage of the brain, the process of abnormal proteins clinging to the spongy masses of our cranium that we rely on to think and speak. However, the real and tangible meaning of the word will be different to everyone living with the condition. For some, they might struggle in a supermarket with finding the right change. That nagging voice in their head willing them to understand the difference between a 5p piece and £1 and yet their brain refusing to help them. Or they might lose patience with friends or family, struggling to follow conversations.

For me, living with posterior cortical atrophy began when I noticed the precision of my touch-typing getting progressively worse and my spelling starting to slip. For an author, what could be worse? And so I sought help, and will always be the loud and proud type to speak my mind and admit I'm having trouble. But there are many people with dementia too worried about failing with simple tasks in public to even step out of the house. I believe this is because simple displays of kindness often elude the best of us in these manic modern days of ours.

Ultimately, research is the answer. While talented scientists beaver away at finding a cure, this campaign holds a mirror up to us all – forcing us to realise we can do more in our everyday lives to help. Look past that mirror, maybe even through the wall, to the house of your next-door neighbour. Maybe it's an older lady, albeit only in her 60s, who you haven't recently seen popping to the shops as usual. You notice that she's forgotten to collect her milk from the doorstep, and that when you last stopped to chat she seemed confused and couldn't follow what you were saying. Think of how you might be able to help her – there are little things you could do to support her and let her know she's not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of us out there living with dementia who – to paraphrase the song in the advert – every now and again really could do with a little help from a friend.