The Chief Executive Officer at Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel OAM, wrote an interesting post on LinkedIn recently, which began with Albert Einstein’s quote: ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’ With the greatest of respect and with very much love for the fierce and wonderful…
I’ve been watching Episode 1 (Season 1) of the series on SBS , The Blinding of Isaac Woodard, and have just ordered the book this documentary series is based on, Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of America. Watching it felt like my story, except not for being black, but…
I’m unflinchingly determined to continue to expose what I believe to be human rights violations in particular against people living with dementia, of any age, and of our families. That someone else may not see something I beleive to be a violation, or that I am accused of being wrong, or of blaming people for…
On Ageism Awareness Day 2022, I have pledged with Every Age Counts and also here: I STAND FOR A WORLD WITHOUT AGEISM To promote awareness of violence, abuse and neglect in residential aged care in Australia (and globally, I also wish to share a blog posted this week on the Dementia Justice website, on the…
The 15th Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP CRPD) was held in New York at UN headquarters on 14th-16th June. My blog today highlights an excellent COSP15 Side Event on Remedy and Reparation for Institutionalization, moderated by colleague and friend Tina Minkowitz, who is President of…
It has been many years since I trademarked my term, Prescribed Disengagement®, yet, there are still many people without dementia who continue with the 20th Century view and management of dementia. My medical specialist (a registered, experienced neurologist specialising in dementia and migraines) advised me after the initial diagnosis that there was “no treatment for…
Normal human responses to the C0VID-19 pandemic, without any doubt, contest the construct known as the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). Many ‘dementia experts’ also refer to this as challenging behaviours, responsive behaviours, or unmet needs. I do not believe any of these terms are appropriate. BPSD is an umbrella term applied to…
It remains a high priority of mine, hence I have been campaigning for the deinstitutionalisation and de-segregation of people with any type of dementia of any age, and in fact, anyone of any age living in residential care for many years. This includes ‘memory units’ and ‘dementia villages’. Although two of the following Transforming Communities…
Whilst I was proud to receive a University of South Australia Alumni Award recently, I still always wonder why. The inceasing level of activism, and the voluntary work and research (sometimes even paid!) that I have been doing since being diagnosed with a rare young onset dementia 13 years ago, and since co-founding Dementia Allaince…
In a recent article I read on MamaMia about a young woman having to prove her disabilities, I was struck by the similarity to my experience, and that of many others, of having to prove we have dementia. “In just over the past month, Rhiannon has received two parking fines. The first of which she…
For many years, I have been campaigning for dementia to be managed as a condition that is a “major cause of disability and dependence” (WHO), and why people with dementia are being denied access to Universal Health Coverage including being denied proactive disability support and assessment, including rehabilitation. The following is a recording of a…
The rights of persons with dementia most often continue to be ignored, and denied. In this series of webinars, I hope this is the beginning of change, at least in one area of post diagnostic support, namely, rehabilitation. My blog today is of my presentation at this series of webinars, which were hosted by Lee-Fay…
On July 1, 2012, I published a blog titled Dr Martin Luther King Jr asked ‘Is it right?” which I have added below, with a few edits or comments made in pink. It is interesting to me to read it again, and for a change, I still agree with most things I wrote back then.…
In the last year or so, many people with and without dementia have started to document the history of what they perceive as dementia advocacy and/or activism. It almost feels like it is being done, as if to justify that the last more than two decades of advocacy have been worth it, and so I…
Recently I was interviewed by Bec Hogan, who is the Deputy Chair of 3C Management and is creating a social change project with the ‘Dementia Heroes Month’ Initiative. Bec is an Aged Care Consultant in Consumer Engagement Strategy & Creative Digital Content, and this series of podcasts runs throughout September, highlighting people she refers to…
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