Dementia awareness starts with a conversation

A Western Australian aged care provider are tackling the social isolation and stigma that typically accompanies a diagnosis of dementia.

The Bethanie group is launching a ‘Let’s Talk Culture’ as part of Alzheimer’s Australia’s Dementia Awareness Month this September.

Bethanie will head a series of forums at various locations in Western Australia to give families and carers a better understanding of dementia.

Bethanie dementia consultant Michelle Harris said dementia remains highly stigmatised in Western Australia, despite rising to number two in the state’s leading causes of death last year.

“Many years ago, people with a physical disability were excluded from society,” Ms Harris said.

“We’re having the same problem today with people who have a cognitive impairment due to dementia.”

Ms Harris said people are still reluctant to seek a diagnosis of dementia because they are afraid of losing their job, or even their family.

“But knowledge is power,” she said.

“A diagnosis might mean changing certain aspects of your life, but not certainly not giving up altogether.”

The response of the family and wider community play an integral role in the journey of someone with dementia, according to Ms Harris’ experiences.

Schools and commercial businesses, not just aged care companies, should have the appropriate signage and staff-training to accommodate people with dementia.

“You see signs everywhere saying physically disabled access, but there is no national symbol for people with a cognitive disability,” she said.  

Ms Harris explained that a lack of understanding can cause members of the community, even family members, to shut out a person with dementia, and this can have immense consequences on their sense or worth and wellbeing.

“Social isolation only makes the situation worse.

“If we make someone feel stupid by telling them we’ve repeated ourselves ten times, then they will close off and stop sharing.”

The best way to communicate with someone with dementia is through reminiscence, Ms Harris advised.

Her ‘memory bridges’ are conversation-building blocks derived from an in-depth personal understanding of the individual’s life.

Because not all reminiscence is positive, it is mandatory that we find out as much about a person with dementia if we are going to share in their journey.

“Just like a wheelchair is a physical bridge, memory bridges help to build up a level of communication,” she explained.

Bethanie has taken on dementia care as part of its broader strategic plan. There has been an executive commitment to ensuring all staff feel confident communicating with a person who has dementia.

Environmentally, all signage, fonts and images have been configured to suit dementia-friendly guidelines.

But the most important element of dementia care at Bethanie is personal.

It is knowing the person’s favourite food, music and how they like to spend their time.

It is looking at the person behind the disease, and not just at the disease itself.

“There is no such thing as a typical care journey,” Ms Harris said.

“It is individual and we need to be tolerant of that.”

Image: Bethanie dementia consultant Michelle Williams. CONTRIBUTED.