Reviews and testimonials

My father really looks forward to going every week and enjoys the company and activities he feels safe and I know he’s being very well looked after. he wishes he could go more often!

Andy and team team have thrown us a life line! My dad has Alzheimer’s and my Mum is the primary Carer and was becoming overwhelmed with the 24 hour care he needed. 

Lovely, friendly organisation - well run with enjoyable activities. The participants have a good & productive time. My sister has dementia & she loves it. Andy & team are kind, friendly people.

The difference from how members were on arrival to how they were at the end of the session was unbelievable,  they just lit up with the music, singing and dancing. 

Nice for John to have a change & mix with the group doing a variety of things rather than always being with me. And I benefit by meeting friends for a catch up, shopping is easier & quicker on my own, and getting to my own appointments! The group is great for both of us & I know John is happy, settled and looked after while he's there.

It enabled him to mix with other people, which he enjoyed very much. It gave me time to meet friends or go shopping, knowing Peter was safe.

As a former member my husband always came back saying he had an excellent time and it gave me a break for a period of time. However Richard is in a care home now and unable to attend. He is settled and happy.

The service helps us tremendously, providing Dad with a few hours respite a couple of times a week. It also provides Mum with the opportunity to get out of their house and go somewhere, meeting other people socially. 

Mum only started coming to the group in January, I don't know what we'd do without it now! It's so beneficial that transport can be provided too, as without this we'd struggle to get Mum there each time. (Neither Mum and Dad are able to drive anymore).

Have my mum valuable respite time whilst Ken was in group, also the stimulation provided by the group : music games, dancing and his favourite hobby Eating! He no longer is able to attend due to advanced stages of Alzheimer's.

It helps my husband to socialise and interact with other people who have dementia.

Our mother has been attending Dementia Active three times a week for over a year now since being diagnosed with Vascular dementia . Mum has settled in well and we noticed a significant decline when covid closed the group for some months. Andy ,Melissa and the whole  team cannot do enough, they are patient, caring and accommodating .  We never worry about Mum when she goes to the sessions as we know she is well looked after and we know she loves every minute. We would be lost without your support , Thank You ! 

 My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in January 2020, he gets very anxious about going out, but then we found Andy and Dementia Active!! He really enjoys his Thursday's with the Banbury group, it really has helped to get him out and gives him something to look forward to! The sessions are very well organised and packed with fun activities. I would absolutely recommend. Andy and Melissa are just brilliant with all the attendees, hats off to them both for their compassion, energy and drive, I don't know where we would be without them 

My friend Neil has been attending the groups for almost a year now and he loves it . The groups are the highlight of his week . Thank you to all involved 

 Amazing facility. Visited open evening 

 Very friendly and happy place.  Lots of activities to keep you busy and lovely people to help you. 

1) The activities reinforce simple tasks, sufferers have forgotten, together with building self confidence in using their lost skills.

2) Group activities for the members helps re-build social skills and confidence.

3) The dance session is particularly useful as it helps with recalling songs they like or use to know, and provides a bit of exercise. For Shirley this is something that she always is able to recall when prompted and looks forwards to the next weeks dance session.

4) Having a meal together, with new found friends, is a great benefit, which is something that has been lost, as suffers social circle reduces, due to their illness. This is a very important aspect of retaining social skills.

5) In my view, the absence of the carer, enables members to be more independent and provides a social outlet they, otherwise, may not have outside the group. I was otherwise surprised how more confident Shirley seemed after the first session. 

6) For myself, having a regular couple of hours away from the front line of being a carer, means you can arrange to carry out tasks that are otherwise difficult or prolonged with Shirley in attendance, or just the opportunity to meet up with a friend for a coffee.

It reassuring, not only are they in safe hands, that the members are fully supported in trying to retain cognitive and physical skills within an environment where they can enjoy a full complement of social interaction.

A most important aspect of this session, is that members get away from their normal routines and can live their lives a bit more independently, to the best of their ability, just as they would have done with their friends a few years ago.

As a carer to my husband it was a life saver.  It gave me respite a window of time to do something for me, which otherwise does not exist when you are looking after a loved one day and night.  For my husband it gave a him a little social time and interaction with other people, something stimulating, enjoyment.  This is a very important service.

My Wife Carol attended the group up until about eight months ago after suffering with Alzheimer's for three years before I enrolled her as an outlet for additional company, the enjoyment she achieved whilst there was amazing and seemed to bring out the person she used to be before her Dementia started to affect her.

Unfortunately she suffered a bad and devastating fall down stairs at home which has accelerated her Alzheimer's to the extent she is now in a nursing home with no memories of the past including both myself and family, but I remember what Dementia Active gave her for the time she was there and know how important it was, not only to her, but to all the other members who became her friends for the three hours she attended.