Should children be taught about dementia?
What are the views of children regarding dementia? Are they relevant? There have only been a few studies looking into this. It is hard enough to explain dementia to an adult, so can we expect to condense the information adequately for a child?
A study in Taiwan looked at more than 5,000 students between the ages of 10 and 15 years. The results indicated the following: - younger children can sometimes feel stigmatised by a relative with dementia; - children much more than adults believe that dementia is preventable; and - almost half thought this was some kind of psychosis.
Only 13% knew someone with dementia compared to 45% for the teachers. This suggests that there is a lack of awareness when interacting with adults. Children probably do not spend much time thinking about this. Should it be any different?
What responsibility is there to give accurate information in schools?