‘Creating a Dementia Inclusive Generation’ Transition Year Programme. An awareness raising project.

Description

The ‘Creating a Dementia Inclusive Generation’ Transition Year (TY) Programme aims to promote healthy ageing and good brain health, and to recognise the important contribution that older people and people living with dementia, make to society.
Changing attitudes and building knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can help reduce the isolation and loneliness that many people with dementia experience.
It is estimated that almost one in three young people knows someone with dementia and a growing number of young people are likely to be affected by dementia through family or friends as the population ages. To create a dementia-friendly generation, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) supports young people in understanding and taking action against dementia.
There are three main elements to this innovative TY programme.
Firstly there is a Dementia Awareness e-learning programme, “The Brain” developed by the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSiDC). This involves five modules of self-directed learning covering the following topics:
Growing Older: This module invites the pupils to consider the concept of ageing and asks them, through an interactive graphic, to decide what age they think is ‘middle-aged’ and when they believe ‘old age’ begins.
The biological, sensory and psychological changes that occur with age are explored.
Ageism is explained and challenged and the value that older people bring to society is highlighted.
At the end of each module the students are given access to further information, worksheets and class activities to reinforce their learning from the module.

The Brain: In Module 2 students learn about the three main areas of the brain (cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem), as well as identifying the main brain lobes and how they keep us functioning.
Our memory systems are introduced at this point and the differences between short and long-term memory are discussed. Module 3 tackles Brain Health and this is particularly important information for teenagers. It outlines how their lifestyles today could impact on their brain health in later years. Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that are associated with an increased risk of developing dementia are identified. Non-modifiable risk factors include age, gender and genetics whereas the modifiable risk factors include: diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and, high cholesterol.

The topic of Dementia is introduced in Module 4 and students learn what it is and how it can affect memory and thinking. It gives examples of how dementia can affect a person and its impact on the person and their family. The students look at different ways that they can help a person with dementia and how to respond to their needs.

In the final module, Perceptions of Dementia, participants are encouraged to discuss their feelings and attitudes about dementia and they also critically examine how the condition is portrayed in the media. Importantly, students hear a person with dementia talking about their experiences of living with dementia. The e-learning modules are designed to integrate with both the Junior Cycle curriculum (through SPHE, CSPE and Science and Wellbeing) and Transition Year Units.

However, the ‘Creating a Dementia Inclusive Generation’ Transition Year (TY) Programme is so much more than just an online education experience. Students can take the next step and join the “Peer Educator” programme. These students are furnished with an ASI toolkit to help them facilitate dementia awareness sessions for their fellow students.
Each toolkit contains four lessons:
• The Brain
• Explaining Dementia
• Dementia in the community
• Supporting those living with Dementia
Additional resources include videos and worksheets to stimulate group activities and creative engagement and these can be used for debates and brain storming sessions.
The learning outcomes from the Peer Educator programme include:
• Learning about the main symptoms and causes of dementia and what it might be like to live with dementia
• The impact of dementia on families and caregivers
• How positive relationships can improve the lives of people living with dementia
• The importance of the community in supporting those living with dementia.

Students can also become involved in fundraising activities to help raise much needed funds for services and supports in their local communities. The ASI can provide a dedicated partner from their Fundraising Team to supported the class in their endeavours.
This includes a fundraising toolkit to help bring some inspiration and the ASI will provide t-shirts, balloons, collection boxes etc. to help with their fundraising efforts. The ASI Social Media Team will publicise and highlight their work and provide a showcase for all the students wonderful achievements.

The whole programme is adaptable and can be tailored to each school’s individual needs with varying levels of engagement. As an added bonus the Project is an official Challenge Partner with An Gaisce The Presidents Award, which includes the added opportunity for Gaisce participants to fulfil challenge area requirements.

Aim of Initiative

The aim is to make the next generation of adults within our country fully aware of dementia and fully inclusive of all those who are living with dementia. By providing them with the education and knowledge today we hope to remove the stigma associated with the condition tomorrow.
We also hope that the knowledge that they will gain about good brain health and the risk factors for dementia will guide them to make beneficial life-style choices that in turn will reduce the numbers of people living with dementia in the future.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative is primarily aimed at TY and Junior Cycle students. However, the programme is also being utilised by Education and Training Boards around the country. It has even been used by Georgia Southern University, who were holding a summer campus for PhD students in Wexford Town.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Collaborative Planning and funding: The programme’s success stems from a collaborative effort involving DSiDC, outside sponsorships, educators, students and the ASI Community Engagement team.
2. The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland worked closely with schools to align the programme with the Transition Year curriculum, ensuring a seamless integration of dementia-related topics into existing subjects.
3. Comprehensive Training: Those who developed the programme and the team who are currently rolling it out all have an extensive and comprehensive understanding of dementia to help facilitate the delivery of this programme across all secondary schools in Ireland. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland community engagement team have received specialised training in dementia awareness, communication techniques, person-centred care, and inclusive teaching strategies. This ensured that students received accurate information and developed a compassionate understanding of dementia.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Funding. As ever with projects such as these, success can often hinge on securing the necessary funding. In the end, after much deliberation and scouring of budgets, it was agreed that DSiDC would provide the bulk of the funding with the ASI securing a substantial contribution from their corporate partner, Arthur Cox.
2. The next major challenge was taking DSiDC’s existing, paper based, programme and developing it into an e-learning programme suitable for TY and Junior cycle students. This took many hours of collaborative work between the e-learning development company and ASI and DSiDC staff.
3. Getting the TY Programme out to all schools across Ireland through the Irish media has been challenging, especially when faced with limited funding.
   Advertising and promotional campaigns can be expensive, making it difficult to reach a wide audience. Consequently, alternative approaches must be explored to maximize the impact within the available budget.
   Creating personal relationships with schools and teachers becomes essential in this situation. By developing strong connections, you can gain their trust and support for the TY Programme. This involves investing time and effort in building relationships, attending education conferences and engaging in direct conversations with educators. Face-to-face interactions, phone calls, and emails can help convey the importance of the program and build rapport with potential participants.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Enhanced Awareness: The program successfully increased awareness about dementia among participating students with over 53 schools in Ireland (1600 students) signed up within the first year of its release and a further 57 signed up for the coming school year. Students have reported back that it has helped them understand the devastation dementia can cause, and the importance of having an educated understanding of how it can affect the lives of those living with it and their carers. It has also helped reduce the stigma and misconceptions associated with dementia.
2. Empathy and Communication Skills: Through immersive experiences and interactive workshops, students developed essential empathy and communication skills necessary for interacting with individuals living with dementia. This skill set extended beyond dementia-related interactions, benefiting their overall personal and social development.
   It also fosters excellent intergenerational ties between young and old.
3. Dementia Inclusive Environments: The program instilled a sense of responsibility among students to create dementia-inclusive environments in their schools and communities. This resulted in positive changes, such as the implementation of dementia-friendly design principles, improved signage, and enhanced accessibility measures.
   We hope the programme’s impact will extend beyond the Transition Year, with many students becoming lifelong advocates for dementia awareness and support.