“When you look at me You will measure me by my awareness by my response by my age by my development And you will find me lacking But for me you are measuring with the wrong cup.” This beautiful poem was sent to me by a dear friend following the death of my father in […]
I grew up in an ordinary town in the foothills of the West Pennines, amongst ordinary people leading ordinary lives. Or in an extraordinary town full of extraordinary people living extraordinary lives. A recent fascination for me is the story of Worktown – a mass observation study of the neighbouring town of Bolton in the […]
Last month I accompanied Stewart, a member of York Minds and Voices, at the request of the local NHS clinical networks (I think) at a day’s event. This was designed to give local CCGs and relevant stakeholders in dementia care – mostly Health – a gentle kick up the backside to increase the diagnosis rates […]
This week we have announced 11 ‘Dementia Enquirers’ grants, awarded to groups in the DEEP network. The successful projects aim to find out about: the benefits of Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) how to create dementia-responsive video content about using Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) the essential requirements for a multi-cultural meeting centre whether class and ethnicity have an […]
Women with Dementia: Speaking from the heart Is dementia a women’s issue? And if not, isn’t it high time it was? In theory at least, this question has already been answered, by a steady stream of reports marshalling the evidence[1] [2] [3] over the past few years. We now know that dementia has not […]
At last! People ‘who experience non-physical (‘hidden’) disabilities that result in very considerable difficulty whilst walking should be considered eligible to receive a Blue Badge’. So… those with so-called ‘invisible disabilities’ – including dementia – can, from 30 August 2019, apply for a Blue Badge parking permit, which allows their car (whether they are drivers […]
Five small words that provide a platform to share, inform, connect and influence. Words might not be forthcoming, but the intention and the desire to be heard is (literally) made plain to see. Some of the first people with dementia I worked with in 2001 stated simply: “Listen to us. Hear us. We are here.” […]
Our work at Innovations in Dementia[1] supports people with dementia to keep control of their lives, and be happy. People with dementia are at the heart and start of all our work. Working alongside them, we promote a positive, though realistic, view of dementia, demonstrating that, although it is life changing, it does not have […]
I’ve just been reading some excellent material by Swarbrick et al (1) and Morbey et al (2). It covers work that has been going on to ensure meaningful involvement and inclusion of people with dementia as co-researchers rather than as subjects of research. There is a powerful recognition of the need for a move away […]
As a director of Innovations in Dementia, I am involved in a range of different projects, but one important part of my work is to help facilitate the Minds and Voices group, part of the DEEP UK network of dementia voices. Last month at Minds and Voices we created a constitution. It’s no big deal […]