“The Summit was a key moment in our campaign to make London the world’s first dementia-friendly capital city. The target is 500,000 Dementia Friends, 2,000 organisations involved and all London boroughs working towards becoming dementia-friendly by 2022.”
Dementia Action Week got off to a fantastic start when Alzheimer’s Society held the capital’s first Dementia Friendly London Summit. Find out all about it here!
For people of any age, research has found that music can inspire particular emotions or senses, conjure vivid memories, and create an atmosphere of collaboration, euphoria and closeness.
In some cases, individuals suffering from age-related illness have recognised loved ones after listening to favourite songs. Research by the charity Music For My Mind has advocated for inclusion of music in the standard therapy for dementia. Many of an individual’s most robust memories will be their earliest, including the music of their teenage years and all its associated emotions.
Live music in particular is able to create this effect even more vividly – by bringing the performance and collaboration directly to the viewer, and creating an event where groups of people can enjoy similar sensations, together.
The Royal Albert Hall’s Songbook Programme brings live music to older Londoners. Find out how to get involved!
“People who are not LGBT* struggle to understand why it might be very important at times in our lives when we are experiencing particular stresses and changes to be with people with whom there is no need to hide or explain who we are.”
This week’s blog – which appears as part of Dementia Awareness Week – sees Opening Doors London’s Sally Knocker explain how dementia care differs for members of the LGBT* community.
With the numbers of those affected by Alzheimer’s continuing to rise (with over 1 million people in the UK expected to be affected by 2025) and the cost of treating the disease mounting (over £26 billion annually in the UK currently), now is the time for action!
Outside of the box research is key to driving advances in alternative methods of treatment and developing low cost drug free options to prevent the disease. Picking up this BATon is the BAT Foundation – a national charity investigating the benefits table tennis can have physically, mentally, and emotionally on those living with Alzheimer’s.
Welcome to the second edition of our new monthly series on ageing in film. This month Danny Elliott studies Still Alice and questions how age can affect our reaction to tragedy. You can also read last month’s article here. Age UK London works with and for the 2.2 million people aged 50+ in London. The issues faced by a 50 year old may be very different from that of an 85 year old; some of the work we do includes helping people plan for the future, alongside offering support for those re-entering employment or retraining for a new role. That ‘lower age limit’ […]
. . . as ‘The Big Bang Theory’s’ Sheldon helps dementia clients in Scotland . . . The BBC are reporting a pilot scheme in Scotland, where driveable robots are being used to help older people with dementia – the story can be found here. The thing is, I saw the photo and thought, “I’ve seen this somewhere before . . .” For those of you who haven’t seen it, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is an American sit-com about four science geeks and how they deal with the world. Doesn’t sound promising, does it? But it is a hit on […]
What is the best practice for providing care and support around learning disability and dementia? Who is leading the way and how can you get information? Brenda Bond investigates…
Recent research seems to be indicating an emerging new issue in social care. As is often the case, a medical triumph – people with learning disability living longer – is coupled with the challenge of meeting new needs in older age. It is now estimated that up to 50 per cent of people with Downs Syndrome, for instance, may develop dementia as they age. Are we ready for this new challenge? Will people who have grown up in the adult social care “system” be adequately supported into older peoples services? And crucially, will the money be available for their needs to […]
