Dementia Friends Champion Helen Morris offers some thoughts on children and young adults coping with dementia
People are often concerned about what they might say to children about a grandparent who has been diagnosed with dementia. They do not want to scare and worry the child and might be tempted to say nothing and just keep them apart.
But eventually that young person has to come to terms with the situation and might be more worried and distressed or even feel guilty about their exclusion.
They need to know that grandma or granddad will be changing and at some point might not remember exactly who their grandchild is but that this is not any kind of rejection but the result of damage to brain cells storing and retrieving memories and those used in recognition.
Research has shown that where parents try to protect their children from a grandparent with dementia, the children can become withdrawn and scared. For no apparent reason they no longer visit Gran.
By involving the grandchild in supporting their grandparent they can feel genuinely useful and, with the right information, can understand the condition and actually help by focusing on granddad’s remaining abilities, perhaps taking walks together outside or demonstrating games on an iPad.
The Alzheimer’s Society has some useful materials for people approaching this situation – see here.
Some great programmes are emerging in schools now where schoolchildren and older people with dementia work together.
For example reading aloud can provide entertainment and the opportunity to help a pupil, who also gains confidence with vocabulary, grammar and spelling. Life story work allows pupils to learn firsthand about another era and the person with dementia has an attentive audience and a life storybook to keep.
By using web applications a person with dementia might gain access to whole new social life. These are the sorts of initiatives I hope to become involved in locally next year.
Dementia Friendly Communities must include our younger citizens so we can improve the lives of many people with this increasingly common condition and have nicer places for everyone to live.
If any children’s groups or schools would welcome a Dementia Friends Session tailored to a younger age group please call Helen on 07976 702171 or email helen@close-communications.com
For details of local Dementia Friends Sessions please visit www.close-communications.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.