This is the most common thing I hear from people about my diagnosis of dementia, and is possibly the most common others with dementia talk about. Even some people with dementia say it to me; yes, even when they themselves know how insensitive it is to hear it said. It is an odd conundrum, and one…
How do people, who are living with the symptoms of dementia and which is causing increasing cognitive disabilities, including memory loss, reduced cognitive abilities and changing emotions and behavioural responses, work together cohesively and without getting upset occasionally? One of the things I hear over and over again from this supporting someone with dementia, relates…
It is Saturday in Australia, and the first thing I’d like to do is say Happy Birthday to Shibley Rahman, a friend and colleague who will wake up in London, hopefully to a sunny day! It is not a great shot of me, but the flowers surrounding the entrance of the Bloomsbury Hotel in London…
Later today, there is to be a Twitter chat about Language and dementia, so if you want to join us use the hashtag #demphd and you’ll find me tweeting as @KateSwaffer plus you might find @DementiaAlliance and many others getting involved. The debate on language is usually rather robust, and it will be a good lead in…
It has certainly been an interesting couple of weeks in England and Scotland, and on my last day here when we had planned to visit some dear friends south of London, we have both been too unwell so instead I have attempted to catch up on a few things like blogging, especially as I don’t think I have written…
See the Media Release below from the University of Wollongong, by Elise Pitt. I am thrilled to be a part of this innovative and exciting project. Equipping students with the skills needed to manage dementia “Pilot project to help the next generation of professionals tackle the growing issue of dementia in Australia. A pilot project…
One of the problems with the advocacy organisations, and the many other organisations who have people with dementia in their mission statements, and who state they advocate ‘for’ us, and many who also say they are ‘fueled’ by the loss of a mother or father or some other person they loved ‘to dementia’, is that they may say…
It is a big week for DAI members in the UK as today is the beginning of Dementia Awareness Week in the UK. To coincide with it and the acceptance of a human rights approach to dementia by ADI and the ADI Council members in Budapest, Dementia Alliance International is releasing its first official publication on…
A friend of mine in the UK, Ken Clasper has written this important blog Getting the correct Diagnosis first time. As he says, getting the correct diagnosis, of anything, is imperative and having been misdiagnosed a number of times with serious conditions, or not diagnosed for 45 years, for a serious brain malformation, I get…
Over the last few months, perhaps years, I’ve noticed an increasingly offended, and even occasionally, an increasingly outraged voice from care partners of people with dementia, objecting to the louder global voice and inclusion of people with dementia. We are quite rightly, adding to the public discourse on dementia. There has, for a number of years now, been…
Change is almost always difficult for people, and the wave of change via the voices of people with dementia is quickly growing. In fact, getting dementia might mean we are lucky, as we are getting used to change now, as it is happening inside our brains and bodies every single day. On top of that,…
Working in a not for profit organisation, and as an advocate and activist for people with dementia, I have seen in the sector, and of course, in all other sectors I’ve been involved in, some huge egos. One interesting challenge people with dementia are facing is more than other peoples egos though, it is our…
There are those who would say it is simply not possible to build capacity in people who are losing capacity, and yet, there are many people with intellectual disabilities, or changed cognitive capacity including people with dementia, who have learned new things, and who have learned to do things differently in order to continue to function. It…
Obviously Irving Kirsch is well ahead of his time, and I feel ignorant having not ‘found’ him until connecting with a man, now a good friend who lives in the UK and writes an inspirational blog about his experience as a care partner for his wife. Thanks Paul!
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