Whilst family care-giving research and policy literature has burgeoned since the mid 1980's what continues to bedevil and confound the field of practice is how to meaningfully assimilate family carers expert knowledge into the process of care. In particular, few studies consider practically how to blend knowledge and skills acquisition where the interplay of the family carer, practitioners and person with dementia form the foundation of care practice and equal attention is paid to each partner in the process of understanding and clinical decision-making. This paper presents the findings of a biographical study in a residential aged care setting, that aimed to facilitate and improve relations between the family carer, practitioner and person with dementia, translate family biography into dementia care interactions, and examine the challenges of addressing the need for participatory care whilst complementing service philosophy, framework and workforce structures.