Trajectories of Offers and Refusals in Assisted Eating Involving People with Late-Stage Dementia
Research on assisted eating in dementia care has shown that eating is not merely a physiological event but an interactionally organized activity accomplished through the coordination of bodies, objects, timing, and participation. From an interactional perspective, non-eating can therefore be approached not only as a medical or nutritional matter, but also as an interactional phenomenon.
Drawing on video-recorded assisted eating involving people living with late-stage dementia and using EMCA, this presentation examines moments in which food is offered but uptake does not occur. The analysis shows how caregivers initially orient to delayed or suspended uptake as a temporary suspension within an ongoing joint activity. Through waiting, repeated offerings, embodied pursuit, pacing, and upgraded entitlement, however, non-uptake may gradually become accountable refusal. The presentation contributes to research on dementia care, embodiment, agency, moral accountability and action ascription in social interaction.
About Ali Reza Majlesi: He is Associate Professor in Education and Lecturer in Speech and Language Pathology at Karolinska Institutet. His research examines social interaction in everyday life, including pedagogical and clinical professional practices. His work focuses on social action, sense-making, and the organization of knowledge and morality across the lifespan, from children to adults, with particular interest in cognitive and communication difficulties. His research includes interaction involving L1–L2 speakers, individuals with speech and language disorders, people living with dementia or aphasia, as well as human–machine interaction.
