In my previous blog post, The Longest Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Journey Through Dementia, I shared part of my personal caregiving journey and the emotional realities of supporting loved ones living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
As I continue this conversation during Dementia Awareness Week (May 18th – May 24th ), I want to shine a light on something many people may not fully understand:
Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are often considered a hidden disability.
Unlike physical disabilities that may be immediately visible, dementia primarily affects the brain — impacting memory, communication, reasoning, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. From the outside, a person may appear physically healthy, while internally, they are navigating confusion, anxiety, disorientation, sensory overload, or difficulty processing information.
Because the disability is unseen, it is often misunderstood.
I have personally experienced situations where individuals living with dementia may appear forgetful, withdrawn, slow to respond, overwhelmed, or confused in public settings — especially while traveling, navigating airports, restaurants, crowded environments, or unfamiliar routines. Unfortunately, people sometimes misinterpret these behaviors as rudeness, lack of attention, stubbornness, or incompetence, when in reality the individual may simply need patience, reassurance, and understanding.
One resource that has been especially helpful for my family and me is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative offers wearable items and tools designed to discreetly signal that someone may have a non-visible disability and may benefit from extra patience, assistance, or understanding in public spaces. Many airports, airlines, transportation systems, entertainment venues, and businesses around the world now recognize the Sunflower symbol.
Sometimes, simply “looking for the Sunflower” can remind us to lead with compassion instead of judgment.
You can learn more about the program here:
As caregivers, we are constantly learning, adapting, and seeking support. One of my caregiver support groups recently recommended a powerful resource that I believe may help others walking this journey:
Surviving Alzheimer’s: Practical Tips and Soul-Saving Wisdom for Caregivers
The book offers practical caregiving advice, emotional encouragement, and wisdom for navigating the many challenges caregivers face daily. Sometimes the greatest gift we can receive is knowing that someone else truly understands the journey.
As a leadership consultant and executive coach, this journey has also reinforced an important leadership lesson for me: some of the most effective leaders are those who learn to recognize the unseen challenges people may be carrying every day.
Whether in the workplace, our communities, our churches, or our homes, leadership is not simply about results and performance — it is about empathy, awareness, patience, and human connection. Many individuals silently navigate caregiving responsibilities, cognitive challenges, mental health struggles, grief, or hidden disabilities while still showing up each day trying to do their best.
Great leaders learn to slow down long enough to listen, observe, and lead with compassion instead of assumptions.
In many ways, caregiving has strengthened my own leadership philosophy. It has taught me the importance of emotional intelligence, flexibility, servant leadership, and meeting people where they are. Sometimes the greatest act of leadership is not fixing a problem — it is creating an environment where people feel seen, valued, respected, and supported.
One lesson caregiving continues to teach me is this:
Not every disability can be seen.
Not every struggle is visible.
And sometimes the kindest thing we can offer another human being is patience.
Whether you are a caregiver, family member, friend, healthcare professional, leader, or simply someone encountering an individual living with dementia in public, I encourage you to lead with grace, empathy, and understanding.
Because behind every diagnosis is a person still deserving of dignity, love, and respect.
— Dr. Kenneth Robinson
