Demensguiden explores how communication can function as practical support in dementia care.
When cognitive function changes, everyday situations often become difficult to interpret. What appears as resistance, confusion, agitation, or withdrawal is often connected to changes in processing capacity, executive function, stress tolerance, and emotional regulation.
Small adjustments in communication, pacing, structure, and relational approach can often reduce overload and make everyday situations more manageable — both for the person with dementia and for those around them.
This platform explores those adjustments in a practical and experience-based way, grounded in real-life care situations.
Much of the perspective behind Demensguiden is influenced by years of working with video guidance and Marte Meo-informed supervision in dementia care, where small relational moments often determine whether situations escalate or settle.
The aim is to help caregivers and professionals understand behaviour in dementia from a functional perspective rather than primarily through correction, control, or symptom-focused thinking.
Approach
The perspective presented on this platform focuses on everyday moments where communication can support function, regulation, predictability, and emotional safety.
Key themes include:
- regulation before task
- executive dysfunction in everyday situations
- communication that reduces overload
- stress and nervous system regulation
- structured guidance in challenging moments
- pacing, rhythm, and relational timing
- practical support in everyday care situations
The approach is strongly influenced by Scandinavian dementia care traditions, where calm pacing, relational support, predictability, and practical adaptation are central elements in care.
Articles connected to this work are published continuously through the Substack series associated with Demensguiden.
A Closer Look at the Work
If you want to understand the practical and relational perspective behind Demensguiden, this article offers a closer look into everyday supervision work in dementia care:
Working Where Words No Longer Work
What video guidance has taught me about dementia, stress, and human connection.
About the Author
Demensguiden is developed by Jan Erik Fosmark, a geriatric nurse, dementia educator, and Marte Meo therapist working with dementia care and guidance.
He has worked for many years in dementia care, including direct clinical work, supervision of caregivers and healthcare professionals, and teaching related to communication, regulation, and demanding everyday care situations.
His work focuses particularly on functional supportive communication, executive dysfunction, stress regulation, and how small relational adjustments can influence difficult situations in dementia care.
Through years of video-based guidance and practical supervision, he has seen how subtle changes in pacing, structure, body language, and communication often affect situations more than explanation, correction, or persuasion.
Demensguiden was created to translate practical experience, relational understanding, and clinical observation into accessible guidance that caregivers and professionals can use in everyday life.
Further articles, practical guides, and in-depth dementia communication resources are published continuously through Demensguiden and its associated Substack series.