\u201cWhy would I need to know about Dementia?\u201d That\u2019s the (usual) response from many people when we talk about Dementia-awareness. <\/p>\n
What they don\u2019t realise is that many Dementia sufferers are hidden away in our communities with little or no support. There are carers and family members tearing their hair out; not knowing where to turn to for help with their loved one \u2013 many not even recognising that Dementia is the problem. <\/p>\n
A survey in 2008 identified the Filipino community as one in which there was a lack of Dementia awareness, which was largely attributed to cultural barriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDementia and mental health issues have a cultural and societal stigmatism attached to them, which is a barrier to accessing health services.\u201d \u2013 Alzheimer\u2019s Australia.<\/p>\n
In an attempt to break down these barriers, Sydney company My Home Living Care (MHLC) created the Dementia Caf\u00e9 project. With funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, the project aims to take the message out to the Filipino community.<\/p>\n
Ella Magallanes Martirez, host presenter for MHLC says \u201cAs well as sharing coffee and cake in a cultural-friendly \u2018virtual caf\u00e9\u2019 environment, we learn about the different types of Dementia, how to recognise it and manage the consequences. Carers also learn how to support each other and what services are provided by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with a loved one who has Dementia can be very demanding.\u201d says Ella. \u201cMany Dementia sufferers have behaviour problems and can sometimes become aggressive. In some Dementia cases medication is appropriate, depending on a medical assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dementia Caf\u00e9 sessions are conducted in Tagalog and English. There are basically seven types of Dementia with different types of symptoms. Alcoholic Dementia for example exhibits unique difficulties. Alzheimer\u2019s has different characteristics, so too does Parkinson\u2019s. And treatment for early-onset Dementia in younger people is best treated if symptoms are detected early.<\/p>\n
My Home Living Care provides in-home care for the aged, disabled and infirm so that people can have a dignified life in their own surroundings. They also provide respite care so that carers can get a break. <\/p>\n
They have a 24 hour \u201cDementia hotline\u201d for confidential enquiries and emergency support. The Dementia hotline is 045 888 0909.<\/p>\n
Many of the services provided by MHLC are covered by funding from a variety of state and federal government packages including some specifically set up for Dementia sufferers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhy would I need to know about Dementia?\u201d That\u2019s the (usual) response from many people when we talk about Dementia-awareness. What they don\u2019t realise is that many Dementia sufferers are hidden away in our communities with little or no support. There are carers and family members tearing their hair out; not knowing where to turn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}