The document uses the analogy of a photograph album to represent a person's memory system, with photographs representing individual memories. Normally, photographs contain both facts and associated feelings from experiences. However, dementia can introduce "blank" photographs that only contain feelings without the stored facts. Over time, as dementia progresses, more blank photographs accumulate in the album, replacing normal fact-filled photographs, until few remain.

1. The SPECAL Photograph Album
We use the analogy of a photograph
album to represent the person’s
memory system, with photographs
that represent the individual
memories

2. The SPECAL Photograph Album
Photographs record all our experiences as they happen;
they contain the facts and feelings associated with each experience
Normal photograph:
facts-plus-feelings
feelings
facts
The taking and storing of photographs in our album is an automatic
and unconscious process going on in the background of our life ……

3. As we live out our life, photographs of what has just happened are arriving all the time …
Photographs fly in on today’s page with no effort
from us whatsoever

4. The SPECAL Photograph Album
Dementia introduces a new type
of photograph into the person’s feelings
album - a fact-free, feelings-only
photograph that we call a blank
In a blank the feelings take
up all the space where the
facts would normally have
been stored

5. At first, these new dementia photographs will be very few and far between

6. Gradually, over time, the blanks will increase…..

7. The blanks will build up progressively and occur sequentially ….

8. In the final stage there will be very few normal photographs

9. The SPECAL Photograph Album
1 - Normal (pre-dementia) 2 – Early dementia
3 – Mid stage dementia 4 - Late dementia