Dementia Design Forum

I discovered an American blog today called Dementia By Day that belongs to a Dementia Care Consultant: Rebecca Wonderlin. I've put a link to her site in my Blogroll and I wanted to share this list she wrote a couple of years ago. It doesn't strictly relate to design but it struck me as being very well worded an straighforward, not to mention very appropriate. I think it speaks well for most of us. If I get dementia, I’d like my family to hang this wish list up on the wall where I live; 1. If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality. If I think my spouse is still alive, or if I think we’re visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I’ll be much happier for it. 2. If I get dementia, I don’t want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am. 3. If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I’ve always enjoyed. Help me find a way to exercise, read, and visit with friends. 4. If I get dementia, ask me to tell ...

When it comes to the environment it is the most influential and the most overlooked asset any care home has.  That’s not to say there aren’t some really good examples such as the #Sunrise property in Edgbaston. Great team, great philosophy, great building, and the management has followed through within the home and at senior level. I’ve worked there recently myself and there’s a mind-set of constant improvement at this home.  If there’s a downside, homes like this charge a premium. But that’s the point, this type of care home environment is only available at a premium. It shouldn’t and needn’t be that way.  Stimulating and appropriate environments can be made available in every home. In every home there are opportunities to use the available space to reinforce the locality (sense of place) and reflect the profile of the population to create an engaging and relevant environment.  May I strenuously point out at this juncture that this need not be an expensive exerc...