Dementia study launched within the Deaf community

Researchers have launched a unique project to improve early diagnosis and management of dementia among Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL). The video content on this page requires you to have the Flash Player plug-in installed. You can download the Flash Player plug-in from the Adobe website via the link below: The research, funded by Alzheimer's Society, will examine how to identify dementia in Deaf people and explore how they might best cope with their condition. The study will also investigate how to provide support services for the Deaf community and develop assessment tools in BSL. The University of Manchester team, working with colleagues at UCL (University College London), City University London, and the Royal Association for Deaf people, brings together Deaf and hearing researchers from a range of disciplines, including dementia care, social work, old-age psychiatry, psychology, Deaf studies and Sign Language research. Lead researcher Professor Alys Young, from the Social Research with Deaf People programme at The University of Manchester, said: "Nobody knows whether Deaf people are more or less likely to experience dementia than hearing people. Our assumptions about what might be valued in care and support are based on hearing people's preferences, not rooted in an understanding of Deaf people's cultural experiences.