Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a set of symptoms and behaviours that occur when the brain stops working properly. This results in loss of independent function for that person.
Daily brain exercises may help decrease your risk of developing dementia by building cognitive reserve.
This page will help you to find local services in relation to dementia quickly and efficiently.
If you are living with dementia, this section offers some practical advice on living your life to the full.
Within communities people are taking action, big and small steps that make a difference in the everyday lives of people with dementia. Find out what actions you can take and the supports available.
Businesses or service providers can make a big difference to the quality of life of people with dementia and their families. Find out what actions you can take and the supports available.
A community champion inspires others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia and their families. Find out how you can become a community champion and the supports available.
How to diminish the risk factors and reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Reminiscence has been found to have a positive effect on quality of life for people living with dementia. Typically people with dementia are better able to recall things from many years ago than recent memories, so reminiscence draws on this strength.
The Memories are made of this – Dementia: Understand Together garden created a space where people living with dementia could reminisce in a welcoming and supportive way. The garden was a celebration of all things 1950s – where people in their 60s, 70s and 80s could remember, celebrate and share stories about an era when they were young.
People living with dementia were central to the design of this garden sharing their memories of the gardens of their youth; working gardens where growing your own vegetables was a natural and often necessary way of life; the manicured front lawns of suburban homes to the stone walls and hay bales remembered from country holidays. Gardens were part of the rhythm of everyday life, a place to grow food for the family, indulge in a gardening hobby and the background to many family photos.
The metal sculpture at the centre of the garden represented the growing number of Irish people who are diagnosed with dementia and the challenges of living with the condition. The interwoven flowers and bed around the sculpture showed the beauty and individuality of someone living with dementia and the varied experience of each person. Reminding us to “see the person” and not the condition, which helps to dissipate the stigma that still surrounds dementia.
Dementia: Understand Together’s Top Tips to Stimulate Reminiscence in Your Garden: