With all good intentions I plan to write 1-2 blogs each week. And as with many good intentions, it is now one month later and I have finally returned to this screen, this site, and my designated/promised blog.
Coming to Winnemucca (and to your community as well if you contact me) is the Dementia Friends presentation. The goals of DF include educating the public - family, friends, business owners, employees, visually everyone - about how to best help those with dementia. It takes all citizens working together to create a perfect community, and that is a what DF is all about. Let's examine a few of these:
Health Care - We need services that promote early diagnosis, potential interventions, and best practices. Often health care professionals are afraid to mention "Alzheimer's disease", for example because it carries such a devastating stigma. With no reversal, no cure, and no prevention, it does sound dismal. However, education is one step in the solution to making wise and beneficial choices. A prescription and a bandaid do nothing to solve dementia, but knowing resources and seeking them out is so helpful.
Businesses - We need business and provided dementia-informed services and environments that are peaceful and friendly for those with dementia and their loved ones who are working to navigate the intricacies of this disease. Family bathrooms, lever handles, chairs and benches, calming music, and a friendly smile are all part of supporting those with dementia as they try to maintain a "normal" lifestyle.
Transportation - We need buses, taxis, Ubers, trains, and planes that are accessible for those with handicapping conditions including dementia. Confusion occurs about how to open a car door, how to enter the seat correctly, how to buckle (and later unbuckle) the seatbelt. Wise drivers plan ahead, have a helping hand ready, calm music playing, and a friendly voice resonating. These drivers understand that someone with dementia may be lost, unsure of directions, scared by sudden changes in movement and direction. They make sure that passengers arrive safely as they guide them to family or friends in a pleasant environment.
to be continued - within a few days!!
