The British Deaf Association (BDA) NI, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society NI, have produced an innovative DVD designed for people who are Deaf or have hearing loss.
The DVD was made following the success of a series of tailored Dementia friendly community workshops – designed to train Deaf people on how to support others to live well with dementia. A further six sessions are scheduled to take place in the coming months.
The DVD sets out appropriate guidelines for meeting and caring for a person with dementia. It is presented in both BSL and ISL, along with subtitles and voiceover, to ensure it’s accessible by Deaf people, people with hearing loss, and their family, friends and carers.
Alice Johnston, on behalf of The BDA Advocacy team in NI said: “This DVD will greatly benefit people who are Deaf and who have previously not been able to access information on dementia, whether they are carers, have dementia themselves, or just want general information on dementia.”
Heather Lundy, Dementia Friendly Community Manager NI said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the BDA to provide the first programme of its kind in Northern Ireland that is raising awareness of dementia to those who are Deaf or have hearing loss. We have had tremendous feedback from participants who have said that the awareness workshops have increased their confidence when meeting people with dementia.”
The informative DVD is the starting point to improving access to services and enabling Deaf people to become more aware and engaged in decision making which affects them and their families.
The DVD is FREE and is available from the BDA (NI) office: Unit 5c, Weaver’s Court, Linfield Road, Belfast.
For more information contact the BDA: bda@bda.org.uk or the Alzheimer’s Society: enquiries@alzheimers.org.uk
Further Dementia friendly community workshops are being held on 7 October in Belfast, 14 October in Lurgan, 16 October in Portadown and 17 October in Newry. Contact Alice Johnston, BDA for more information; Email: alice.johnston@bda.org.uk
Download Press Release 19-09-2014 – Ground breaking DVD on Dementia produced for the Deaf
