The SPECAL Photograph Album offers a way of understanding what it is like for someone to experience dementia.

The SPECAL Photograph Album is a particular way of explaining, in very simple language:

  • how normal memory works
  • what happens to all of us as we age
  • the single dramatic change introduced by dementia

We think of our memory system as a photograph album and each of our individual memories as photographs stored in our album. Photographs are arriving all the time in our album, providing us with information about the facts of what we have just been doing and how we have felt about it

It was like a light bulb coming on. I suddenly realised just what my mother was grappling with. Now at least I understand and can start helping her rather than trip her up.

SPECAL sense recognises that the other person may not know the facts of what has just happened in their life:

SPECAL sense begins with an easy set of general principles which we call the Three Golden Rules. These are the starting point and apply to any person with dementia.

SPECAL sense is crucial if we are to promote lifelong well-being for the person with dementia.

Find out more by clicking on Our booklet

Find out more by clicking on the Three Golden Rules.

A detailed explanation of the SPECAL Photograph Album theory can be ordered via Our Literature