YODA stands for Young Onset Dementia Awareness. On October 24th 2022 we launched an annual Young Onset Dementia Awareness Day – to raise awareness, tackle stigma and champion change!
This year, we are calling on people to take action by writing to their local MP to ask them to create change by improving services and data for young onset dementia. You can download the letter here: MP letter.docx
The U&ME song remains the anthem to our Campaign. The song, which is written and sung by Scott Quinn, features Jonathan Beardsworth on guitar and is inspired by Jonathan’s on words on his diagnosis of young onset dementia. The musician, who has become the face of charity Dementia Forward’s U&ME – ’Create A Voice’ campaign, is determined to provide hope for others by talking openly about his diagnosis – for as long as he can.
The song is available on all streaming platforms.
Link to the Y.O.D.A. – U&ME Single
Please get involved on YODA day by listening to and sharing the video, and shouting as loudly as possible about the urgent need for change. You can send us videos of you, your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours – everyone – enjoying the song on our social media – @dementiaforward using the hashtag #YODA.
Dementia is referred to as young onset when symptoms begin before the age of 65. The types of dementia that affect younger people are often rarer and can be difficult to diagnose, meaning that people can go a long time with the wrong diagnosis and little support. Many people will still be working, have a mortgage to pay and have elderly parents or a young family looking to them for support. This can lead to significant emotional and financial strain for families. Finding age-appropriate support services for people living with young onset dementia can also be difficult, as can finding other people who are going through the same life changes. For all these reasons and more, we would love you to mark Young Onset Dementia Awareness Day.
Young Onset Dementia Awareness Day will be an annual event. Each year we want it to create a focus and act as a marker so we can see how far things have progressed. But we do not want to stand still in the intervening weeks or months. We are raising awareness, so that we can see positive change in diagnosis, data, support, future planning and research.
You can keep up to date with all the action, by signing up to ‘Create a Voice for Young Onset Dementia’ by joining our U & Me Campaign. We want you to be part of it, whether you are living with young onset dementia, a professional working in the field or a campaign supporter, your voice matters, so please add it here:
We Want to Hear Your Voice
