Talking about travelling well with dementia

Myra and Betty have noticed a difference along the promenade in Prestwick. There are new seats now that allow people to rest along the way. The walk is flat, not too long, just right.

Carl from Paths for All came along to our regular Future Journeys discussions this afternoon to tell us more about their work with Dementia Friendly Prestwick, making the area along the seafront more accessible in different ways.

Our wide ranging discussions also included Pat and Louise from THRED an organisation based in Liverpool who have joined up conversations about how we can connect communities to reduce isolation and loneliness and improve the wellbeing of people with dementia and their carers. THRED focuses on the role of transport in keeping people connected and have recently undertaken research led by people living with dementia, exploring how urban and rural transport systems help people diagnosed with dementia to live independently for longer.

We were also joined by Gerry from the STAND group a peer-support group of people living with dementia in Fife. Gerry described how they have developed and delivered dementia awareness courses for local businesses including transport companies. He described a visit to a local bus station that highlighted many challenges caused by design that didn’t take vision impairment into account.

Finally we heard about StudioLR’s Inclusive Symbols project, developing more inclusive signage by working with people living with dementia. This work led to the development of the Any Disability symbol launched in Parliament in 2019.

Lots covered this week and such an important subject. We all reflected on how we had discussed vision and hearing impairments, information processing, isolation, employment and transport to health appointments. Dementia brings so much more than memory challenges. Thanks to everyone who joined us and took part.