"Sån kärlek har man aldrig varit med om..." : En studie av högläsning för personer med demens

Sammanfattning: The paper describes a study on reading aloud to a group of four women with mild or moderate dementia living in a nursing home. The purpose of the study was to examine what reactions the reading aloud creates and if the reactions are different if the literature is written in common Swedish or in easy-to-read Swedish. Original and easy-to-read version of the book "The Lady with the Camelias" by Alexandre Dumas was chosen for reading aloud. The study was conducted in two separate parts with four reading sessions in each part. All sessions were filmed with two cameras, one of them focusing the group and the other focusing one individual. Reader was a caregiver at the womens nursing home.The videofilms have been transcribed and the data has been worked up with a qualitative content analysis. The result has thereafter been analysed on the basis of Erving Goffman´s theory of presentation of self together with relevant research. The study shows that the reading aloud awakened many different reactions, especially among the most verbal women. Three out of four women show a greater amount and more varied reactions during the reading ssions with easy-to-read literature. Alas, it is not possible to draw any certain conclusions about the importance of easy-to-read. One reason is the restricted size of group. Another reason is the difference in picture material between the texts which affected the reader´s activity. In spite of these limitations, the study shows that reading aloud can be stimulating for persons with dementia, even in moderate stage. The study also shows that the reader plays an important part in contributing to reactions in the group and especially in the more severely demential women.