What if the city had dementia?
Dementia Things turn the hidden symptoms of dementia into everyday objects anyone can wear, touch and talk about. Bring them to your care home, school, hospital, community or your own home.
For organisations
Every product is ready to use with groups, and most can be installed or run for you by a trained facilitator.
For individuals
Small tools for brighter everyday moments
Take-home kits for individuals. The Awareness Collection is one set of four gadgets for teaching friends, relatives and children about dementia. The Readiness Collection has four theme toolkits for connecting with someone living with dementia, sold singly or as a set.
Buy it, install it, or have it run for you
Do it yourself
Order the kit with its guide and run it with your own staff, as often as you like.
We install it
Our team sets everything up on site so it is ready for visitors on day one.
We run it
Book a trained facilitator as a separate item at £25 per man-hour to guide visitors and lead the conversation.
From a medical problem to a shared culture
Most people meet dementia as a diagnosis. Our products take a different view, built on more than a decade of design research with carers and care professionals.
A loss
Dementia as a decline in cognitive capability, led by medical experts.
A barrier
People are disabled as much by their surroundings and others' attitudes as by their condition.
A culture
Capture how people tackle their own medical and social issues, and turn dementia into objects everyone can share.
Stories
We collect stories from people with dementia and their carers, professional and family.
Symptoms
Each story is matched to a common dementia symptom.
Situations
We design a "Dementia Thing" that lets anyone step into that situation.
Before you order
Do prices include VAT and delivery?
No. Prices exclude VAT, which is added at checkout at 20%. Delivery is chosen at checkout, and collection is free.
What does a facilitator do?
A trained facilitator guides visitors through the activity, explains the dementia symptom or idea behind each object, and answers questions. Facilitator time is booked as its own item in your basket at £25 per man-hour, so a 3-hour session with one facilitator costs £75.
Can we add our organisation's name?
Yes. The Dementia Jackets, Social Tea Set and Wave Index have a customisation add-on with your organisation's name, at a fixed price of about 20% of the product: £30 per jacket (£150 for a full set), £80 for the tea set and £50 for the Wave Index.
Can we pay by invoice?
Yes. Choose "Invoice / purchase order" at checkout and add your PO number. Card payment is also available.
Where do these products come from?
They are based on the design research of Enable Foundation, a social design collective and education charity in Hong Kong, and are collected in OK Dementia: A Catalogue of Dementia Things (2023).