A creative arts approach to working with people living with younger onset dementia and their families to support interpersonal engagement and enhance personhood

Introduction: People living with younger onset dementia often look for services that fit their unique needs, focus on family relationships, socialisation and maintaining selfhood. This case study research explored the use of a Neuro Dramatic Play (NDP) approach, delivered as an innovative creative attachment-based arts, drama and play approach to support younger people with dementia and their caregiver(s), providing valuable insight into the potential benefits of such engagement, and identifies ways in which this approach could be up-scaled to support others living with younger onset dementia through everyday activities.

Method: Two 10-weekly workshops were run with people living with younger onset dementia. Engaging with 13 individuals, of which three attended as couples (two married couples and one as siblings). The workshops were developed using Neuro Dramatic Play as the theoretical underpinning for the work. Research was conducted alongside the delivery of the session through pre, post and 8-month post measures of quality of life, attachment and resilience. These were supported by interviews at the same time points and a review of workshop videos.

Results: The project found that this approach can support an individual’s creativity and imagination. Through the workshops, participants developed their sense of identity; found a safe space away from outside pressures; a chance not to focus on dementia; supported memory through embodied movement, found ways to communicate through creativity, with each other and enhanced facets of external relationships.

Conclusions: The NDP approach and use of creativity can support people living with younger onset dementia and their caregivers.

"This was a recorded presentation which was presented online at the conference. The recorded version is no longer available but slides are attached."