Last week we saw Dementia Action Week 2022 (May 16th – 22nd) taking place across Britain. The British Deaf Association took this chance to highlight some of the issues faced by BSL Users living with Dementia.
The British Deaf Association released their findings on ‘The Deaf Dementia Research Project’ earlier this month. Due to communication barriers it can be difficult for service users to communicate freely with staff members. This is caused by a lack of understanding of British Sign Language on the part of staff and providers. Service users often struggle to communicate and get their views across, understanding diagnoses or instruction, and accessing information can also be a struggle as most NHS websites and leaflets use English, which most Deaf BSL speakers in a care setting cannot understand. Families can also struggle to convey information in such a way that their family member can comprehend.
The report brought forward ‘The Transforming the Deaf Dementia Experience Project’, which aims to make Dementia information and services more accessible to BSL Users as well as making Deaf people living in care homes feel comfortable and included.
This comes in good time, with the BSL Act 2022 (which was introduced 2017 and formally passed as a bill in April 2022) which aims at making public information and services more accessible to the Deaf Community, including important NHS information.
For more information on the BDA’s most recent project and information in BSL, please follow the link to their website.
Dementia Action Week 2022 – British Deaf Association (bda.org.uk)
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