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September is Dementia Awareness Month

on Tuesday, September 9, 2014

People with a diagnosis of dementia are taking the lead in a national campaign to make our communities and organisations more dementia friendly.

Dementia Awareness Month takes place each September to raise awareness on what is fast becoming one of the leading causes of death in Australia.

This year, the theme is ‘Creating a Dementia-Friendly Nation’ and Alzheimer’s Australia have enlisted the help of people living with dementia to guide the initiative in the right direction.

Their dementia advisory committee consists solely of people who live with the condition.

Chairing this committee is Kate Swaffer, Alzheimer’s Australia’s first employee with dementia.

Kate was an active self-advocate for several years before accepting the role with Alzheimer’s Australia as their consultant for dementia-friendly communities.

Alzheimer’s Australia CEO Glenn Rees said they may be the first Alzheimer’s organisation to employ someone with dementia.

“Kate’s role is going to be really critical in getting people with dementia involved at a local level,” Mr Rees said.

To kick-start Dementia Awareness Month, Alzheimer’s Australia have released a video that features the experiences of three individuals with dementia, Graeme, Glenda and Keith.

They highlight some of the small things that people can do to make a difference in the everyday lives of people, like them, who have dementia.

“Many people in the community are unaware that the progression of dementia occurs over many years,” Graeme said.

“Quite often there is still the opportunity for people with dementia to contribute to their community and continue to be involved in activities they have always enjoyed.”

Mr Rees said that a lot of people still assume that if you have dementia you live in a hospital or residential care.

But in reality, seventy per cent of people with dementia live in the community.

He said there is a common misconception that dementia is senile and reflecting a concern for only very old people.

“It is very important that people understand dementia to be a chronic disease that brings with it social isolation and stigma.

“Through small community actions we can make society a better place to live for people with dementia.”

Mr Rees said we can start by speaking slowly, making eye contact and being prepared to repeat ourselves when communicating with someone who has dementia.

Alzheimer’s Australia has just released a set of toolkits for the community and businesses to help them understand exactly what it means to be dementia friendly.

“It is particularly important for banks, retail companies and organisations like Centrelink to have staff that know how to communicate with people that have some sort of cognitive impairment,” Mr Rees said.

For the community, the toolkits offer a range of strategies to help people with dementia, including memory cafes, buddy systems for sporting clubs and town planning tips for local councils.

International speaker Steve Milton, Director of Innovations in Dementia in the UK, begins a national tour on September 15 to promote some of these dementia-friendly initiatives.

For more information on what’s happening in your state for Dementia Awareness Month, go to dementiafriendly.org.au

Image: Graeme Atkins, featured in The Unspoken Impact of Dementia video. 

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