winter Pressures Workshop - Deaf with dementia

On the 6th of February, we had our second remote Winter Pressures workshops to discuss how dementia can affect deaf people’s mental health and provided tips on how to work with deaf people with dementia and their careers. 

On behalf of Deaf specialist researcher on Deaf dementia, Dr Emma Ferguson-Coleman.  Dr Ferguson-Coleman has worked within the field of mental health and deafness for over 25 years, primarily as an independent mental health advocate within acute and forensic mental health services with Deaf people.

Being diagnosed with dementia or seeing someone you love being diagnosed with dementia can have a big impact on your mental health, which can impact your physical and mental wellbeing. For deaf individuals, the experience can be much more stressful due to communication barriers and confidence issues.

Dr Ferguson-Coleman explained that there are many different causes of dementia, and many different types. However, to be concerned that the early signs of dementia among Deaf people are likely to be missed, both by family or community members and by professionals from whom they seek advice and support.

Dr Ferguson-Coleman shared with us tips on how to communicate with Deaf with dementia and showed us videos about what it is like to have dementia. This gives us more ideas about what it is like to have dementia and how to support someone with dementia.

 

A big Thank you to Dr Emma Ferguson-Coleman for coming to talk to us about how dementia can affect deaf people’s mental health and providing tips on how to work with deaf people with dementia and their careers.