Over the last few years, the concept of Dementia Villages, Memory Cafes, Dementia specific shopping lanes, etc. has been growing, and worse, the villages are currently being lauded as ‘best practice’, in spite of there being NO evidence for them. Just like the Dementia Friendly Community or Dementia Friends initiatives, they were developed by people…
Article 19 of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), focuses on the provision (and right) that all disabled people have the right to live and participate in the community. This includes people living with any type of dementia, and easily justifies why it is no longer (and never…
In the last few weeks, there have been a few articles, blogs or tweets on the impact of others publicly doubting a persons diagnosis of dementia, which I am highlighting here for your weekend reading! One tweet by a professional last week claimed with certainty some people don’t have dementia. Whilst it didn’t name anyone,…
Medicated and Motivated – NOT!!!!!! Questioning the abusive practice of chemical restraint. Guest blog by Leah Bisiani MHLthSc/DipBus/RN.1/Dementia Consultant Republished with permission as part of my Rethinking Dementia: Normal Human Responses series for World Alzheimer’s Month… #BanBPSD “Elder abuse is one of the vilest indicators of ageist discrimination within our current civilization. Whilst the concealed ignominy…
In an effort to keep the #BanBPSD series going, I want to highlight a comment written by Peter Gordon from Scotland, who has become a dear friend, and is also a psychiatrist in Scotland who has been advocating for improved practice. He advocates also for a more transparent medical industry for many years, and I will…
Urgent Attention: Gabriella Rogers and 9News This letter is in response to the entitled “New Drug to Treat Behavioural Issues in Dementia Patients”, publicised on Aug.18th 2018 at 6pm. “This report misrepresents both the facts and the real-world experiences of people living with dementia. The report positions all behaviour, moods and reactions within the frame of a dementia diagnosis…
Many people with dementia or their families and care partners do significant amounts of unpaid work for their own self advocacy, or for advocacy and many other organisations. DAI as an organisation, and one I am truly proud to be a co-founder of, does this as well. DAI provides speakers for conferences, events and publication launches,…
I’ve been researching inclusion, accessibility and friendly, along with a number of terms regularly used within the dementia sector. One of the reasons is because of the ‘lightbulb’ moment I had last week, during an email discussion with people from a number of countries, where they no longer use the word dementia. In fact, they have…
Below are some screen shots of some positive comments via email and twitter following an article I co authored with my dear friend and colleague Shibley Rahman. If I was able to, I would have embedded the twitter comments, but alas, even after quite a few attempts, I gave up! So far, we have only…
The following video was published on YouTube by Human Rights Watch on February 5, 2018. Thanks to Susan MacCauley and Jason Burton from Alzheimer’s WA for highlighting it. Jason posted on LinkedIn: “Great new short video released to coincide with the Human Rights Report into misuse of antipsychotic medication in dementia care in USA. Hard…
Perhaps it is a great idea, but surely, labelling where we live, shop or eat and have coffee by our disease or condition, is simply another form of keeping the myths alive, as well as ensuring a continued sense of ‘otherness’. It is definitely another form of segregation. And yet, the emergence of Dementia Villages, or…
Here’s hoping I can do a few of these things in this quote… and thanks to one of my friends and fellow dementia activists, Agnes Houston for alerting me to it! I had meant to publish a blog on New Years Day, simply to wish everyone a great 2018, but my body, mind and soul…
Farewell 2017: the highs & lows As we come to the end of another busy year, I’ve been pondering on how things have changed over the last few years, and especially in 2017. Today is also the last day of my role as the SA 2017 Australian Of The Year, and whilst it should have…
There has been, for many years, discussions, requests, even what could be seen as begging from may of us diagnosed with dementia to use respectful language. That means, respectful from our point of view, not those who are not diagnosed with dementia. Of course, people with dementia do suffer some of the time, but we…
In my own experience It’s ultimately kinder to be up front Face up to stuff Be honest and true to you Laugh as much as possible Dance, even when no-one’s watching Believe in love It will always overcome hate Forgive others In the knowledge That those who intentionally harm you Speak of themselves Not you…
You must be logged in to post a comment.