Workshops

YPWD (Berkshire) was established in 2012 and our aim was to provide a range of support and ancillary services to younger people with dementia (those diagnosed below the age of 65), and to their families and carers, within the Berkshire West area covering Wokingham, Reading and Newbury and we now cover the whole of Berkshire.

Young onset dementia affects adults between the ages of 30-64. Nationally there are more than 42,000 younger people with dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Society report: Dementia UK (2nd Edition), in Berkshire alone, there are an estimated 539 people living with young onset dementia.

Workshops
Following consultation with carers and people with young onset dementia, there was an identified unmet need for respite opportunities.  Carers reported a reluctance to access respite because they deemed it not to be age-appropriate or meaningful for their relatives.  YPWD offers respite to carers through the provision of a number of different workshops for younger people with dementia throughout the working week.  A brochure of the workshops is produced every six weeks and people with dementia can access various workshops through the week, thus offering clear choice and a flexible approach to respite for carers.

Examples of workshops
A series of activity-based workshops are run across the working week in Berkshire. They were selected on the basis of current evidence of therapeutic benefit and following requests specifically by people with dementia and from carers’ feedback. The range of workshops offered have included choir, gardening, table tennis, walking, running, cycling, katakanoeing, badminton, art, photography, furniture restoration, bushcraft, indoor wall climbing, archery and dance.       

Service access criteria: Was diagnosed with dementia under the age of 65
Additional needs catered for:
Dementia friendly
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