Dementia Support Line
Services for people with young-onset dementia
Services for all people with dementia should try to help them maintain their day-to-day skills and develop new interests if they wish to. This page provides information on age appropriate services for younger people and help with locating them.
- Young-onset dementia
- What causes young-onset dementia?
- Diagnosing young-onset dementia
- Living with dementia as a younger person
- Treatment for people with young-onset dementia
- You are here: Services for people with young-onset dementia
- Young-onset dementia - useful organisations
Young-onset dementia
Services and support for younger people
There are a number of services available to support people with dementia. However, not all dementia services meet the needs of younger people.
Services for younger people with dementia should understand the issues that come from receiving a diagnosis as a younger person. They should also be able to provide appropriate information and support to help with the issues younger people with dementia face. Having access to age-appropriate information and support can make a big difference to people with young-onset dementia and those supporting them.
Younger people with dementia may find they are offered services that are designed for older people and so aren’t able to give the support they need. There are some services specifically for younger people with dementia, but they aren’t available everywhere. Some dementia services are able to provide appropriate support for younger people with dementia as well as older people with dementia. For example, some activity groups may run groups just for younger people with dementia.
It’s really important for younger people with dementia to have access to the right support, including services designed for them and meeting other people in a similar situation.
Finding the right support
To find the right services, it may be useful to start by asking for support from the service where a person was diagnosed with dementia. They may be able to speak to a dementia adviser or specialist nurse who knows about young-onset dementia.
To find out if there are services for younger people with dementia in an area, people can search below:
Find services local to you
In some areas there are local support groups for younger people or those living with certain types of dementia (such as FTD or familial Alzheimer’s disease). These can enable younger people with dementia and those close to them to meet or get in touch with other younger people affected by dementia. See Young-onset dementia - more resources for more information.
Some people also find online support helpful, especially if they are unable to find specific services for younger people with dementia in their area. They could consider joining Talking Point – our online community for people affected by dementia. It has a dedicated section for people affected by young-onset dementia.
Dementia Support Forum
Paying for care and support
While many services for people with dementia are free, some may be charged for. People with dementia are also entitled to a needs assessment to work out what their needs are and to help them find the right care and support.
A person can contact their local authority or health and social care trust to arrange a needs assessment. Carers are also entitled to assessments of their own needs. For more information see Assessment for care and support in England, Assessment for care and support in Wales, or Care assessment process in Northern Ireland.
