Young in heart and mind
Parallel 4
18 November, 2026 12:00 – 1:10 pmYoung Onset Dementia (2)
Ruth Eley is the chair of Together in Dementia Everyday (tide), a Board member of Dementia Community and the vice-chair of Liverpool Dementia Action Alliance. She is a social worker by training and an experienced manager in health and social care. She was seconded to the Department of Health where she took a lead role in contributing to the development and implementation of the English National Dementia Strategy. Since 2011 she has been a Director of Flynn and Eley Associates Ltd. She was co-author of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report ‘Creating a dementia-friendly York’ (2012) and with Polly Kaiser co-edited ‘Life story work with people with dementia – Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary People’ (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017). Her most recent publication is Eley, R. Redwood,P. and Walker,M. ‘My home matters – making it personal’, Journal of Dementia Care, May/June 2024, Vol 32.No 3
Summary
Most people with dementia are older, so younger people with dementia often struggle to find services or activities that are geared to their needs. They may also face ignorance and misunderstanding from health and social care staff who are not aware that dementia can affect younger people and that memory loss is unlikely to be their main problem. This presentation will describe the setting up of in person peer support groups for younger people with dementia and their carers; how members have influenced change; our learning from these and a monthly on-line group for carers of younger people; and the co-production of staff training resources and workshops for carers.



