Staff Deliverers Jess Hillicks and Dawn Fairbrother have been running Dementia Friends Information Sessions for the Deaf community in West Sussex. They shared their experiences ahead of Deaf Awareness Week (5th-11th May).
Jess and Dawn
Dawn first considered reaching out to the deaf community after an event she attended. “I went to a Deafinitely Theatre event for deaf people and supporters of the deaf community. It was my first experience of being at a conference where 90% of the people spoke in a different way,” she said, “They use BSL, or another form of it.
“They raised my attention about how if somebody who is deaf and living with dementia wants to attend a day centre or activity, they may not go because the right support isn’t available for them.
Deaf people can face added communication challenges when trying to access healthcare, including getting a dementia diagnosis and support and attending local groups.
“I'm not saying every activity club should have a British Sign Language interpreter,” says Dawn, “but every organisation should have someone who can do some level of BSL, because these people are already isolated because of their hearing loss, and now they're getting possibly other medical issues, as well as dementia, and there is nowhere for respite.”
Dawn and Jess, both Community Development Coordinators, approached Action for Deafness about providing dementia information for the local deaf community. They were delighted when the charity said yes. They then arranged several Dementia Friends Information Sessions for the deaf community in Worthing and Haywards Heath.
“They welcomed us in with open arms,” Dawn said, “and they arranged for us to have a BSL interpreter at the session.”
Jess and Dawn also adapted the sessions so they were clearer to understand.
“In BSL, the language isn't like our language, it has key differences.” Jess explained. “So when we designed the Dementia Friends session, we really stripped it back to basics but kept all the key content. We also used visual aids.
“The sessions were received so well that we were there for maybe an hour and a half afterwards talking to people about dementia. They were really pleased we had taken the effort to find out more about how to deliver these sessions in a way they could understand.”
Gerry Turton at Action for Deafness said: "Thank you to Jess and Dawn for doing such a lovely, clear presentation. The quiz was an excellent idea to give everyone an opportunity to interact. After the session, the members were saying that there was a lot they did not realise about dementia. Many of them discussed the bookcase analogy!"
Mary, who was the BSL interpreter at the first session said there was some really important comments and feedback from the session, including: "I wish I knew this stuff before my mum died. It would have helped me understand more."
A Dementia Friends session in action
Jess and Dawn are now hoping to deliver Dementia Friends sessions for volunteers and staff at Action for Deafness which could make a real difference as the organisation helps people with hearing loss in the community.
Jess says, “There is a long way to go to help people living with deafness and dementia. We are only brushing the surface, but I feel that we've just prised the tin can open.”
This shows how having a little understanding of a group’s needs can help to provide them with much-needed awareness and support.
If you would like any advice about delivering Dementia Friends to D/deaf audiences, please contact Dawn at [email protected] or Jess at [email protected].
For information about dementia in BSL, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk/accessible-resources.
