People with Dementia

A person-first term used in accessibility and dementia research to refer to individuals living with dementia — an umbrella term covering progressive neurological conditions (such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia) that affect memory, reasoning, communication, and daily functioning. Using "people with dementia" rather than "dementia patients" or "the demented" centres the person over the condition and reflects commitments from disability justice and person-centred care. People with dementia are frequently under-represented in technology design despite being primary users of many assistive, safety-monitoring, and reminiscence tools; inclusive methods such as tangible co-design, simplified consent processes, and proxy-aware analysis are used to involve them as active design partners.