Dawn Geddes discovers how one charity is tackling dementia
Dawn Geddes discovers how one charity is tackling dementia with language lessons.
THE prospect of developing dementia as we get older is something that worries many of us. With recent research showing that 850,000 people in the UK are already affected by the condition, it’s clear that we are right to be concerned.
Luckily for us, Lingo Flamingo, a social enterprise based in Glasgow, has come up with a new way of tackling the condition – by teaching people over the age of sixty a second language!
While the thought of learning a new language might seem like a challenge too far for many people, Robbie Norval, Founding Director of the non-profit organisation, says that a challenge is actually just what our brains need to keep the debilitating condition at bay.
“Studies have shown that people who are bilingual actually develop dementia four to five years later than people who are not.
“The reason for this is that learning a second language builds up our cognitive reserves, making the brain more resilient to things like stroke or dementia.”
After working in the care sector himself and noticing that many of the activities offered to service users were passive, Robbie decided to establish Lingo Flamingo, an organisation which would encourage people to strengthen their brain power by learning languages.
Since its launch in 2015, the enterprise has continued to go from strength to strength and now offers classes to older people across Scotland, teaching them French, Spanish, German and Italian.
Lingo Flamingo classes don’t follow a set curriculum, tailoring their sessions to the needs of their learners instead. They aim to make all of their classes enjoyable, proving that life-long learning really can be fun.
“We link a lot of our learning to nostalgia and culture, building on our learners’ existing knowledge of each country and its words.
“If we are teaching Italian, for example, we’d do some activities around Italian food and its names as well as practising common Italian hand gestures and the verbs that go with them.
“Towards the end, we might do some sensory work through tasting Italian foods like bruschetta before ending the session by singing along to Italian songs such as Dean Martin’s ‘Volare’.”
Robbie says that one of the most important elements of the classes is the way that they encourage social interaction during the learning process.
“One of the most fantastic things about our classes is that they provide a new experience for our learners. Our participants are getting out and meeting new people at the same time as challenging themselves to learn something new.”
As well as offering these sessions to older adults to prevent the effects of dementia, Lingo Flamingo also work with adults who are already living with the condition.
For those sessions, Lingo Flamingo tutors concentrate more on the sensory aspects of learning, focusing on smell, touch and taste.
“We had a married couple who used to attend our classes in Ayrshire.
“The woman already had quite advanced dementia and couldn’t really communicate, so although she paid attention during the sessions, she never really spoke.
“Through the class she regained some confidence, and at one point she actually picked up her pen and wrote the Italian word ciao, which was fantastic!
“It was the first time her husband had seen her write in two years. Her family wrote to us later to say that although it was a small advancement, it really had made a big impact.
“When you measure results when it comes to people living with dementia they really can be small, but to their family and their carers that small thing can mean so much.” n