I consider myself fortunate that so far, nobody in family has lived with dementia.  Many people working in aging services are there after having personal experience caring for a loved one.  Strangely enough, my first experience interacting with someone living with dementia was in college, during an internship in a CCRC my senior year. 

Quite simply, the definition of personhood is the quality or condition of being an individual person.  At the core of personhood is the self- who we are are, our values and beliefs.  It's who makes us who we are.  Being able to recognize the "self" of personhood is key to understanding and practicing person-centered care for persons living with dementia.