Transforming the deaf dementia experience
The British Deaf Association (BDA) have developed the project ‘Transforming the Deaf Dementia Experience’. The project is a community interest initiative supporting deaf people, and their carers, who are living with a diagnosis of dementia. Through the provision of accessible resources (also available in British Sign Language (BSL)) the project aims to promote a better understanding of dementia within the deaf community.
During Carer’s Week, 10 – 16 June, BDA Scotland launched a range of videos which share deaf carers stories and experiences. There is also a video from Emma Ferguson-Coleman, University of Manchester, who shares her experience of working with deaf carers for people with dementia. Emma has found a number of challenges for deaf carers, including issues around the understanding of dementia. In Emma’s fascinating video she discusses some of the challenges faced in the deaf community and why deaf carers need additional support.
Other videos include: Eddie McRobbie who cared for this mother; Andrea Paterson who shares her experiences caring for her husband; and Joyce Dickson who cared for her husband at home for seven years before he moved to a care home. All of the carers express the importance of more information about dementia for the deaf community.
For more information on the BDA, and their project, visit https://bda.org.uk/dementia/
