Dementia Dancing

Published: April 2, 2018, 1 p.m.

Gillian Russell visits Greenhills Care Home in Biggar to find out from fitness instructor Fiona Pagett and manager Jean Dunlop about the weekly dance and movement classes the residents are taking part in. Stephen - whose wife Jane has dementia and is currently in the care home - explains why dancing has always been so important to the two of them and how they're able to dance together again during the weekly sessions. Stephen and Jane's daughter Sarah describes the impact the dance sessions are having on her parents and why she's written a blog about the family's experiences of coping with her mum's dementia. Research Fellow Dr Alison Dawson from Stirling University talks about the CHARMS project which is all about encouraging care home residents to move more and explains why something like dancing might be useful for people living with dementia.