Edinburgh Napier University

  The Scottish Dementia Working Group (SDWG) is a national member-led campaigning and awareness-raising group, for people living with a diagnosis of dementia in Scotland. To be a member of the group you must have a diagnosis of dementia and hold a commitment towards the promotion of human rights for all those living with dementia.

One strategic aim of the SDWG is to raise awareness of what people living with dementia can continue to do and achieve amongst health, social care, and related professions. Over the last ten years members of the SDWG have worked in partnership with occupational therapy students, graduates, and academics. This collaboration influenced the publication in 2023 of an academic textbook, ‘Occupational Therapy and Dementia’. The opening chapter of this book was written by members of the SDWG, including Margaret. This presentation therefore provides an opportunity for Margaret to share her writing with you. Specifically, the value of maintaining creative activities, in her case singing, to continue to live a positive life for longer when living with dementia.

During the presentation Margaret will read from her chapter to highlight the centrality of music in her life and the way in which it continues to provide meaning and support to her. Margaret concludes that she is “not just a person with dementia, she is also a creative individual whose creativity manifests in her love of music” (Schrag et al 2023).

Margaret, like many others living with dementia, are now sharing their personal narratives of the everyday experiences of living with dementia, with honesty, candour, and humour. Their honesty provides us with a deeper understanding of the voice of lived experience, as a legacy for the future, whilst seeking to uphold the human rights of those living with dementia today.