Inside Dementia

Available for over a year

Anne MacDonald, who has a rare form of dementia, and Barbara Sharp from Alzheimer Scotland invite Kaye Adams and John Beattie to the University of the West of Scotland, to take part in an experiential learning exercise designed to enhance empathy about what it is like to live with the cognitive and sensory difficulties which can be common in dementia and old age. Barbara Sharp from Alzheimer Scotland leads the session, asking John and Kaye to don special spectacles, headphones which distort sound, and other adaptations which restrict their senses and movement, making everyday activities very challenging. Afterwards, John and Kaye reflect on their experience, and their very different responses to the exercise, with Anne and Barbara offering added insight into what it is like to live with dementia. First broadcast: Inside Dementia, BBC Radio Scotland, 12 June 2016.