Our first Alzheimer’s-friendly airport

 

YourLifeChoices would like to congratulate Brisbane Airport for doing things differently and becoming Australia’s first Alzheimer’s-friendly terminal, with the launch of a new guide made especially for travellers with dementia.

 

Ensuring a Smooth Journey: A Guide to Brisbane Airport for people living with Dementia and their Travel Companions was developed by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) based Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration: Carers and Consumers (DCRC-CC) and hopes to make the process of travelling with dementia a little less daunting.

 

“Australia’s first dementia-friendly airport is a fantastic achievement and Alzheimer’s Australia congratulates everyone who has worked to see it become a reality,” said Alzheimer’s Australia Chief Executive Maree McCabe.

 

“Consumers have shared with us their frustrations at wayfinding in large, busy places – such as airports. There are more than 413,000 people living with dementia in Australia. We know that without a significant medical breakthrough, that figure is expected to be more than 1.1 million people by 2056.

 

“People living with a diagnosis of dementia can still enjoy travel, and may require some extra assistance to do so. This guide is fantastic in enabling people living with dementia and their carers to continue to do the things they enjoy, like travel, while assisting in navigating the airport, preparing and planning for travel.

 

“Dementia-friendly may include changes to design, layout, signage and wayfinding or education of staff to be able to recognise and better assist a person living with dementia.

 

“We expect this is just the beginning and look forward to working with many more organisations, large and small, to think about how they can become more dementia-friendly.”

 

We tip our hats to the first airport in the nation with the foresight and empathy to help make travel a bit less daunting for people with dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Related articles:
Does dementia mean no more driving?
Travelling with mum
Ten early warning signs of dementia

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