Empathy happens when we show genuine interest, try to understand and consider without making assumptions about another person’s state of being, current reality and feelings. It is true that we ourselves do not have dementia but this does not have to be a barrier to understanding the person with dementia, we just need to show we are trying to understand, that we get a sense of what it might be like for the person. We can only get this sense when we are truly connected and engaged with the person.