Personhood

The recognition of a human being as a full person with agency, dignity, self-expression, and moral standing, irrespective of cognitive, physical, or communicative impairments. In dementia care and accessibility practice, affirming personhood means interacting with the individual as a whole person with a history, preferences, relationships, and a continuing sense of self — rather than treating them as a collection of symptoms or deficits. Personhood is a core ethical commitment in person-centred care, disability justice, and inclusive design, and is often invoked when arguing against infantilising, deceptive, or purely instrumental approaches to assistive technology.