Together Stronger: A creative arts program for children of a parent with young onset dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundWorking age individuals who develop dementia experience significant challenges to their ability to keep working. This has wide ranging impacts not only on the individual but also for their families, many of which include young children. Presently there is limited knowledge of the impact on children of having a parent with YOD or of resources to support these children.MethodEight children aged between 8‐19 took part in Together Stronger, a community based creative arts programme for children of a parent with young onset dementia. Hosted by the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) the program ran in a hybrid format over eight bi‐weekly sessions. Activities included willow weaving, storytelling with museum artefacts, and baking together. The impact on the children’s wellbeing and social engagement was assessed using mixed methods.ResultQualitative results suggest an overall improvement in the wellbeing of the children whilst quantitative wellbeing results were inconclusive. The children were overwhelmingly positive about the creative activities and wished the group would continue. They particularly liked that the group did not focus on their parent’s dementia but instead was about creative activities. The children enjoyed the social aspect and appreciated the opportunity to spend time with other people in the same situation.ConclusionThis community‐based project for children of parents with young‐onset dementia shows promising results in terms of feasibility, acceptability and impact. Participants' feedback on the structure and contents of the sessions provides useful recommendations regarding future service provision.