The Importance of Dementia Training

The word ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one. The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.  (Definition from Alzheimer’s Society UK).

Dementia is a condition that is commonly associated with older people and whilst this is true, the number of adults under the age of 65 being diagnosed with dementia is increasing.  With dementia becoming a growing global concern and no magic pill on any horizon any time soon its ever more important that we learn to support people living with dementia better.  It’s a sad reality that when someone is diagnosed with dementia, gradually their circle of support tends to peter out.  My guess is that this happens because people are fearful of how to respond to the symptoms of dementia such as memory loss, repeated conversations, distressed behaviour, regression and apathy.  This doesn’t tend to happen as much when someone has a physical condition though.  Mostly people will rally around the person to help them through it.  One might get the grocery shopping while the other walks the dog and so on.  Its a sad reality that people with dementia tend to become more isolated from their friends and communities when this is the time that they need you most.

The good news is, there’s much to learn about dementia and there is much that can be done to help understand it.  If we can learn to understand the reasons behind the some of the problematic behaviours, we can start to put positive support measures in place.  That’s why at Nayland Care we truly value the access we have to high quality dementia training. On Thursday 24th June a small number of our staff attended a dementia workshop delivered by Tracey and Chelsey (we kept numbers small due to Covid-19 and we risk assessed beforehand).  During this workshop our staff took away the following learning points:

• Dementia is not a condition that affects just memory. Dementia can affect visual perception, auditory perception (not necessarily hearing but how the brain interprets sounds), decision making, rational thoughts, sequencing, abstract thinking and something as simple as why leaving a note on a notepad might not be an effective way to help jog a person’s memory.
• How a person with dementia may perceive the environment and what changes can be made to ensure a more conducive living space
• Why bright, bold and contrast in an environment is important
• How mobility aids can help maintain independence for people with dementia
• Why secure footwear is of great importance to prevent falls
• Our brains control everything in our body, not just memory and if a disease is causing atrophy (breaking down of brain tissue) then this will have wide ranging and complex consequences.
• Techniques for better communication and person centred care
• How to help a person live well and in the comfort of their own home for as long as possible.

We would like to thank our staff for taking valuable time to learn more about a condition that affects a significant number of adults we support.  We are opening our sessions out to relatives of people we support too.  If you would like to learn more about dementia please feel free to contact us and we can arrange for you to attend one of our workshops.  You are likely to be attending with members of your regular care team so you’ll see some familiar faces if you come along.  We’ll even bring tea and cake.  Keep your eyes peeled for further dates or give us a call on 01473 550481 if you would like to book onto a future session.