Dementia Through Our Eyes: Orkney Science Festival
In September, some of the Science Ceilidh and the Scottish Dementia Alumni team ventured to Orkney via a ferry for 4 days to run our Dementia Through Our Eyes school workshop as part of the Orkney International Science Festival.
Having piloted the workshop once previously with Loretto RC Primary School in Musselburgh, we were excited to have the opportunity to work with more schools and gather feedback on the game from teachers and pupils. The game takes the format of a multiple choice quiz with the questions and answers delivered through short video clips by the Alumni team, giving a human connection with real people who live with dementia. The multiple choice questions are answered by pupils moving to a designated location in the room representing answers A, B, C, D, or E.
We visited two schools while we were there, Stenness Community School and Shapinsay Community School. Our visit to Shapinsay involved a short ferry trip from Kirkwall with some lovely Scottish tunes from our Lewis to complement the gorgeous scenery around us.
When we started the quiz, the pupils would race to answer the question as fast as they could with there typically being a group consensus on what the answer was. Some pupils who initially raced to one answer would change it if they saw the majority of the class went to a different answer. As the quiz went on, the pupils started slowing down and taking their time to read and consider all the potential answers. We saw their confidence grow in going against the crowd and standing their ground at an answer even if they were the only one to think that.
Towards the end of the quiz, in question 8/11, there was a noticeable shift in the pupils' thinking. The question asks “How do we talk about people with dementia?” and lists the following answers; A) Demented People B) Loony, Nutty or Doolally C) Suffering or afflicted with dementia D) Living well with dementia E) All of the above. There was a general split between answers A, C and D among the classes. Agnes and Martin, two of the Alumni team, highlighted why we should use D and shared that the other options were hurtful towards them and left them feeling upset. The pupils visibly reflected on hearing this and we observed them taking their time and considering the questions that followed carefully before choosing an answer. The pupils hadn’t meant any harm with their answer to question 8 but it was a great way to open up a conversation about how words can hurt and share some words to avoid when speaking about those living with dementia.
““I loved today I loved anticipating the questions””
One of the highlights of delivering the workshops with some of the Alumni team there in person was the connections made between them and the young people. After the quiz, the young people had the opportunity to ask Agnes and Martin questions they had about dementia. The questions the young people asked ranged from wondering how we develop dementia, how many people in Scotland are living with dementia and what parts of the brain dementia affects to asking Agnes and Martin what dementia meant for them including how they felt when they were diagnosed, if they struggled with things sometimes and why they teach others about dementia.
The questions asked by the young people fostered really in-depth and meaningful conversations about dementia. To give one example, one pupil approached Agnes and shared that their gran had been diagnosed with dementia and couldn’t remember what the pupil's name was anymore. Agnes said to the pupil that she herself sometimes forgets a name or a word but not how she feels towards someone and that while her gran might not remember her name, she can remember how she feels towards her. The relief on the pupil’s face when they heard this was instant and really reinforced the importance of running these workshops and supporting these intergenerational connections.
““I really enjoyed the game and all the videos telling us about dementia””
When we weren’t visiting the schools or getting caught up in chat about what next for the Dementia Through Our Eyes workshop, we went sightseeing around the island courtesy of Dave and Paula. We were lucky enough to visit the Italian Chapel, the Ring of Brodgar, St Magnus Cathedral (including the fantastic Sun installation) and of course, we all made sure to fill up on bere bannocks, an Orkney staple.
We want to give a thank you to About Dementia for funding the workshops, and to Orkney International Science Festival for supporting our travel costs. We’d also like to give a special thank you to Paula and Dave for making sure everyone was well looked after and driving us anywhere we needed to be. A notable mention goes out to our mystery donor for covering our sustenance costs for the trip.