Could a one-minute insight be enough to prevent an entire day of distress?

She cried every morning

Nothing helped, until a picture spoke for her

The question that no one understood

“Where’s my Mittens?”

Eva sobbed every morning. Loudly. Repeatedly.She wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sit still, wouldn’t let go of the panic.

Staff looked under blankets. They showed her her gloves. Someone even brought out a coat.

But Mittens wasn’t something to keep her hands warm.Mittens was someone she loved, her childhood cat.

The one who kept her company when her father died. The one she always feared losing.

When the story changes everything

When her carers have this insight, everything changes.

A soft toy cat placed on her bed, or saying “Mittens is hiding under the bed” is all it takes. The fear softens, the searching stops.

Could true person centred care be less about doing more, and more about making the right information easier to access?

Behaviours as signals, not just symptoms

More than half of all people in residential aged care live with dementia, and according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) up to 90% experience behaviours like agitation, resistance to care, or distress.

But what if those behaviours aren’t just symptoms? What if they are signals, of memory, fear, or love trying to make itself known?

Why Eva’s story resonates

When we have shared Eva’s story over the past few months, it has resonated with many people. You can watch Eva's story at Allevico.com.

We have heard reflections, shared experiences, and moments that echo the same pattern, a behaviour that only made sense once the story behind it was known.

Maybe the answers don’t always come from care plans.

Maybe they start with the smallest memory.A phrase. A name. A soft toy cat.

A question for all of us

Have you seen a moment like this?We would love to hear what helped make sense of it, or what you wish others had understood.