Research

Often, the first signs of young-onset dementia don’t appear at home or in a doctor’s office. They appear at work: a missed deadline, a forgotten meeting, a colleague who senses something has changed. In our earlier research, people with young-onset dementia told us they wanted to keep working. Work gave them structure, purpose and a

In our last blog we outlined the co-produced research study we conducted exploring volunteering for people living with young onset dementia. Our findings suggest that taking part in volunteering can have many benefits, but because of dementia stigma and a lack of knowledge, people with dementia tend to be considered only in need of voluntary

The Smarties are a co-production research team who came together in 2021 as part of Rose Vincent’s PhD, which was funded by Alzheimer’s Society (additional funds provided by the SDRC ECR resource fund). We were motivated to conduct research which can improve experiences for people diagnosed with young onset dementia, and to tackle the stigma

In March 2026, we travelled from Denmark and had the pleasure of spending four days in Scotland meeting dementia researchers, practitioners, and people with lived experience of dementia. The visit included participation in a seminar and the Working With Dementia Network Plus conference, providing a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, discuss ongoing research, and explore

How can we model innovative and inclusive employment practices alongside labour markets where everyone is empowered to thrive and contribute?   Presentations by members of DEFIN – Young Dementia, National Dementia Carers Action Network and Michael Cusack, Chief Sustainability Officer at ACS Clothing.     MAQ shared his experience of being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia while still employed. He made the difficult decision to leave his career