11 Dec What does SPECAL® stand for?
“What does SPECAL® (pronounced “speckle”) stand for?” It’s a question we are often asked. SPECAL® used to stand for “Specialized Early Care for Alzheimer’s” until those using it at the Contented Dementia Trust in England, where SPECAL® was founded, realized the method isn’t just effective with early care nor confined to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Now SPECAL® is a word. A simple word with rich meaning and one at Dementia Together which leads, informs, and inspires all we do.
The Dementia Together pillars under which we operate and thrive include:
Education-which is SPECAL-led
Enrichment-which is SPECAL-informed
Hope-which is SPECAL-inspired.
SPECAL® is a practical person-directed, family-driven, relationship-based approach to dementia care that anyone can learn to improve quality of life for people living with dementia and those who support them. SPECAL® views dementia as a simple disability that can be positively managed by working with the dementia-related changes rather than resisting them. Using the SPECAL Photograph Album® analogy, SPECAL® helps us understand memory from the perspective of the person experiencing dementia. Even though dementia often involves more than memory changes, for the purposes of positively managing the condition, this framework informs the tools and principles that truly make a difference in reducing stress and building connection.
SPECAL® distinguishes itself from other dementia care models through its remarkable simplicity, counterintuitive effectiveness, and real-world practicality—delivering life-changing hope for care partners and lifelong well-being for those living with dementia. SPECAL® is a commitment to never stop observing, looking, and pursuing the lifelong well-being of another. At Dementia Together, our priority is to equip family care partners to strategically and compassionately pursue their loved one, listening to their expert living with dementia, learning what works, and letting go of what doesn’t.
As the North American Center of Excellence for the SPECAL® Method, we recognize SPECAL® as the dementia care model which stands alone. SPECAL® guides what we get to share at Dementia Together every day: Support, Perspective, Enlightenment, Connection, Acceptance, and Loyalty. While care partners focus on their loved ones living with dementia, we are dedicated to offering:
Support – providing the positive backup and reassurance families need to prevent loneliness and isolation
Perspective – seeing each situation through the eyes of the person living with dementia
Enlightenment – illuminating new counter-intuitive pathways and understanding
Connection – forging bonds through meaningful engagement, laughter, tears, and friendship with others also navigating the co-existence of grief and joy
Acceptance – embracing the present reality with grace
Loyalty – steadfastly remaining by the side of those we serve as they strive to love and care well, no matter what changes dementia may bring.
All of us at Dementia Together are grateful for the privilege of sharing a little “SPECAL Sparkle” with those we serve. Each day, stories of “ah-ha” moments and joyful discoveries (“It really works!”) shine through, brightening the uncertain stretches of the dementia journey. No matter how the road twists or turns, that SPECAL Sparkle makes the path lighter and the world a little brighter for everyone.
For more information about Dementia Together education and enrichment programming: dementiatogether.org/calendar.
