KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Do the shops in your neighbourhood know how they can support people with dementia to help them continue living well in their community?

It all begins with a bit of awareness, by becoming a “Dementia Friend”.

According to the UK charity Alzheimer’s Society, a Dementia Friend learns how dementia affects a person and does small things to help, including being patient while queuing at the shops.

It’s not just for individuals; even organisations, like businesses, can receive training to become dementia-friendly.

The Dementia Friends initiative — launched by the Alzheimer’s Society over a decade ago and similar to an initiative launched in Japan in 2005 — now has 3.4 million people in the UK signed up as of 2022.

It has also become a global movement, with Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) recording similar efforts to create dementia-friendly communities in other countries, such as in Indonesia and Singapore.

Here are some tips to get you started.

How to make your place dementia-friendly

St Ives Dementia Friendly Community Group secretary Agi Peach said shops can make simple changes such as giving clearer instructions on where things are.

She said shops can also replace dark-coloured doormats in front of their stores with a mat in a lighter colour, as people with dementia may perceive a black mat to be a big hole or a change in the floor level.

“So if you have that at the threshold as you want to walk into a place, sometimes that might confuse them and stop them from going in. They might feel that it’s a big step down,” she told Malay Mail, noting that many local businesses in St Ives, Cambridgeshire have attended Dementia Friends awareness sessions as part of the town’s efforts to be a dementia-friendly community.

In a September 2020 statement on the World Alzheimer Report 2020 on dementia-friendly design, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) CEO Paola Barbarino was quoted as saying that such design does not have to be expensive.

“Things like mirrors on the walls can be an issue, as people with dementia can be disoriented by seeing their own reflection, especially at night,” she said.

For a start, you can find the checklists on the Alzheimer’s Society website and the UK’s not-for-profit firm Innovations in Dementia website.

The Alzheimer’s Society also provides specific tips for different places or services, including your local arts venue, cinemas, places of worship, emergency services, and local transport.

For example, public transport staff can be friendly and smile, as well as give passengers more time to sit down before departing to avoid injuries.

Places of worship can be used as venues for support groups for people with dementia and their carers, and can also allow people with dementia to continue playing a role in their community, such as serving food at celebrations.

The Alzheimer’s Society also has tips on making your home dementia-friendly.

It is important to have clear signs for toilets. — Picture by Choo Choy May

It’s not just the place, it’s about being patient and kind

Most people with dementia are aged at least 65, but younger people can also have dementia.

Some people with dementia may still be able to move about in their community, go to shops, and use services independently.

These are signs that a person might have dementia if they have problems with memory, communication, perception, and daily tasks (such as handling money).

So here are some tips from Innovations in Dementia in a 2012 guide on how you can help if your job involves dealing with customers who seem to have such problems:

Most importantly, ask if you can help.

If someone has trouble finding the right change to pay, do not hurry them and do not show impatience (such as raising your eyebrows or exchanging looks with others).

The guide also mentions that some people with dementia may have problems with their speech or may have difficulty understanding you, especially when feeling stressed or hurried.

You won’t be starting from zero if you already have good people skills and your company already has good customer care, the guide indicated.

“Kindness, common sense, avoiding stress, using good communications skills and a smile go a very long way,” said the 2012 guide jointly produced by Innovations in Dementia and UK’s Local Government Association.

Innovations in Dementia also noted that people with dementia have said the attitude of staff and people they met in the community have made the biggest difference to their lives.

* This article is based on the writer’s project during the Khazanah-Wolfson Press Fellowship 2024 at the University of Cambridge.