Dementia campaigners raising awareness in Salisbury
Today (21st September) is World Alzheimer's Day
Campaigners with Wiltshire-based charity Alzheimer’s Support have been raising awareness about dementia today in Salisbury’s Market Square.
They’ve been in the city on World Alzheimer’s Day (Thursday 21st September).
Alzheimer's Support opened their newest day club in Salisbury back in April and have now filled all 44 member spaces.
The charity is calling for volunteers to help support people living with dementia.
Dementia Advisor David Burton told us that Alzheimer's is the most common diagnosis of dementia, with GP’s unable to diagnose other forms of the disease.
He compared it to cancer:
“People know that once they’ve been diagnosed with cancer, they get told what type of cancer they have.”
But with dementia, that’s not the case, even though there are many forms of the condition.
David told us that dementia can be forming, through the build up of proteins in the brain, for over a decade before symptoms are noticed.
Sadly, there is no scanning tool to spot this happening.
And while dementia is most often associated with forgetfulness, the disease affects more than just the memory.
“Dementia is also a condition that impacts your five senses. When our senses are compromised, we can misjudge and misunderstand things.
“Overtime, our ability to make sense of the world because a little bit more confused.”
David also busted the myth that anything can be said to a person living with Alzheimer's.
“They will remember, quiet clearly, the feeling attached to that engagement, even though they might not remember what the engagement was about.”
David added that true support for people with dementia is leaving a positive emotional signature behind when we interact with them.