178: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill & guest Laura Middleton178: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill & guest Laura Middleton
UK Health Radio Podcast
Pete Hill talks with Laura Middleton about shifting from dementia-friendly to dementia capable communities, highlighting real examples from Waterloo, Ontario and beyond. Their conversation covers stigma, accessibility, youth involvement and the power of including people with dementia in every stage of planning and research.
35:34•31 Jul 2026
Why “Dementia Friendly” Isn’t Enough: Building Dementia Capable Communities
Episode Overview
- Dementia capable communities aim beyond "friendly" or "inclusive" labels, focusing on full participation and support for people living with dementia.
- Meaningful change happens when people with dementia sit alongside transport providers, police, planners and businesses to address barriers together.
- Improving accessibility for dementia often benefits everyone, including people with mobility, sensory and cognitive differences.
- Participatory research that involves people with dementia from the start helps identify real issues rather than relying on assumptions.
- Engaging children and young adults early can build a future generation with understanding of dementia before stigma takes hold.
“"We really want a community that goes beyond including, because that's so like a nice, 'okay, yes, we will make sure you're included,' but it's really not everything."”
Ever wondered what it takes to make a town truly work for people living with dementia, rather than just being "nice" to them? This chat between host Pete Hill and guest Laura Middleton digs into that difference, using Waterloo, Ontario as a real-life example. Laura, Chair of Dementia and Active Aging at the Schlegel Research Institute for Aging, shares how her interest began with her aunt’s early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis at just 46.
From that family shock grew a drive to push past stigma and rethink how communities are built. As she puts it, dementia-friendly felt like "a bare minimum"; dementia capable is about something much bigger: "It should be fully capable of allowing people living with dementia to fully participate, belong, be supported." You’ll hear how Waterloo pulled together an unusually broad team: people living with dementia, care partners, city planners, transport services, police, health centres, businesses, and places of worship.
Pete and Laura swap stories of practical change, like a frustrating transport experience that was fixed within two weeks once the right people and a person with dementia sat at the same table. The conversation also touches on Canada’s evolving accessibility laws, the hidden disability sunflower lanyard, and why dementia-specific tweaks often end up improving life for everyone – from people with mobility issues to those with sensory differences.
Laura explains participatory research in plain language, highlighting how involving people with dementia from the start cuts guesswork and surfaces real barriers, not assumed ones. There’s a hopeful strand on younger generations too, with Laura talking about the Dementia Youth Alliance and the power of building understanding before stigma has a chance to take root. By the end, you may find yourself asking: is "friendly" really enough, or should every community aim to be truly dementia capable?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.