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James

James McKillop, member of Scottish Dementia Working Group

Audio quote from James

'I'm James McKillop. I'm Chair of the Scottish Dementia Working Group. I have a diagnosis of dementia, but I don't let it stop me getting on with life.

'People sometimes think that you are helpless. When you get a diagnosis of dementia a curtain comes down over their eyes and you're unable to do things you could do the day before, but that's not true.

'A lot of people with dementia can do an awful lot for themselves. The only help I would like personally is with my short term memory. I just cannot remember things. So I need it written down. I need plenty of reminders, and I don't mind people coming doing that. But don't come and cut my sandwiches or dress me, I can do that. I know at home my wife writes things up on a board in the morning - things that I've got to do. So I need these wee bits of help, but I can do so much for myself, it's amazing.

'Well, I've been to SCLD meetings (that's Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability) and if they ask a question, if one or two people reply, the question goes out my mind and I forget it.

'So what they arrange to do for me now - they write the question up on a board, so I just have to look up and the question's there and I can follow it. But if they don't do that, I get lost. I can forget a question so easily.

'When it comes to communicating with me, I use two methods: people speaking and people writing, and that includes emails and other forms of communication. I've no problem with that, because I can take my own time at it and I can re-read it as many times as I want, to understand it.

'When it comes to people speaking, I don't want somebody speaking to me like this "H..e..l..l..o... J..a..m..e..s..., h..o..w... a..r..e... y..o..u..?" And that's happened to me in the past. But I don't want people rabbiting on at such a speed I can't follow it. Just a normal speaking speed and just make their voice project so that I can hear clearly, because you can't ask people to repeat every word when it's, say, a big audience.

'So people have got to be clear, concise speakers and just take cognisance of the fact that they don't go to such a pace that I can't follow it, because my mind's always playing catch-up with words. But don't over do it to the extent that you speak to me like a dummy!'