Cuimhnichibh oirnn - remember us

Description

Loss of language skills is a common effect of dementia, and research suggests the resulting challenges may be more complex for bilingual individuals with dementia and their carers. The realities of minority-language contexts appear to further complicate these challenges.

The workshop will bring together community arts workers, academic researchers, policy makers, relevant charities and members of the public with Gaelic-language theatre practitioners from Glasgow-based Theatre Tog-ì. Over the course of the day, three short performances will explore the progressive return to Gaelic of a bilingual dementia patient and the consequences this has on family dynamics and care requirements.

The workshop is designed to prompt responses to the performances that facilitate knowledge exchange between partipants. A key aim of the workshop will be to highlight the connections between the play’s Gaelic-specific context and broader national and international research priorities in the areas of health, well-being and the safeguarding of cultural diversity. Issues to be addressed include: language and translation in cognitive assessment and diagnosis, the neuropsychology of bilingualism, language-appropriate and culturally cognate care provision, language and identity, cultural and linguistic loss/regeneration, intergenerational minority language transmission. The workshop will also explore the role of the arts in raising public awareness of the language-based realities of dementia as well as providing supportive creative outlets for bilingual individuals with dementia and their carers. A key interrelated objective of the workshop will be to identify practical ways to influence public policy with regard to the assessment and care of bilingual speakers with dementia.

Period	26 Jun 2019
Event type	Workshop
Location	Glasgow
Degree of Recognition	International