Latest News from Everycare
People with dementia are being given the opportunity to lead and manage research into the disease, with the help of £700,000 from the National Lottery.
The ground-breaking new project Dementia Enquirers will give people with dementia the chance to undertake their own research into the condition, rather than just being participants. The project will work with DEEP, a UK-wide network of more than a hundred community groups and Innovations in Dementia. They will be able to identify research priorities and plan and carry out their own research.
It envisages using university researchers as advisors or with specified roles within the projects. People involved in DEEP will be supported and trained to capture and share their findings in a creative way such as through film, music, poetry and photography.
Rachael Litherland, director of Innovations in Dementia, said: “We are so proud to have been awarded this National Lottery grant, and excited to be undertaking such ground-breaking work. We are confident that the project can influence the prevailing approaches in research – while bringing new respect for the skills, expertise and resilience of those who are living with dementia.”
Joe Ferns, UK funding director at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be funding this project, which puts people with experience of living with dementia at the heart of research into the condition. Thanks to National Lottery players, this important issue is being tackled in a way which helps people to feel more in control of their lives.”
For more information visit the Homecare website
The symptoms of dementia can include:
Memory problems – People with dementia might have problems retaining new information. They might get lost in previously familiar places and may struggle with names. Relatives might notice the person seems increasingly forgetful, misplacing things regularly. However, we all forget a name or face once in a while and this is nothing to worry about. If it happens on a frequent basis, it’s advisable to visit the GP who can check why this may be happening.
Cognitive ability, i.e. processing information – People with dementia may have difficulty with time and place, for example, getting up in the middle of the night to go to work, even though they’re retired. Also their concentration could be affected. There may be a difficulty when shopping with choosing the items and then paying for them. For some people with dementia the ability to reason and make decisions may also be affected. Some people with dementia get a sense of restlessness and prefer to keep moving than sit still; others may be reluctant to take part in activities they used to enjoy.
Communication – People with dementia may repeat themselves often or have difficulty finding the right words. Reading and writing might become challenging. They might experience changes in personality and behaviour, mood swings, anxiety and depression. People with dementia can lose interest in seeing others socially. Following and engaging in conversation can be difficult and tiring, and so a formerly outgoing person might become quieter and more introverted. Their self-confidence might be affected.
Dementia can be seen as a combination of one, or all of the above symptoms. If you or someone you know is experiencing one or more of these symptoms, which have been occurring for a while and are progressively getting worse, then please arrange a visit to the GP. There are many other reasons someone might be experiencing confusion or memory problems, so it is best to get them checked out and treated if necessary.
To find out more please visit the Dementia UK website.
Our regular luncheon club for clients was recently held and organised by Michelle Adams our Deputy Manager.
As usual the service users who attended thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon. The next luncheon club has been arranged for the end of February and we look forward to seeing both our regular clients and new ones.
For more information please contact us today.
Mr L is a young man with physical disabilities – cerebral palsy – and is a wheelchair user.
He is an intelligent young man but before receiving support from Everycare didn’t do a great deal with his life. He mostly stayed at home never having the opportunity to explore activities as other men of a similar age which resulted in him lacking confidence.
After working with Mr L for 6 months he started going to the gym, the pub, and conducting all his daily business such as setting up a bank account, shopping, cooking, cleaning etc.
As he grew in confidence we talked about what he would like to do in the future. One of the things he wanted to do was go to a football match in Germany – he has always been into Bundersliga football and supports Borussia Dortmund. As soon as this wish was expressed we set about making a plan with him. In the next six months we worked with Mr L on money budgeting so he could save some funds (he managed to save £900) and got a passport. The next step was to get a ticket for a game. This was hard – tickets for a Borussia home game in the wheelchair section were like gold dust but we encouraged Mr. L not to be put off and try different ways to get one.
He set up an email account and sent emails to various contacts in Germany found on the internet and struck lucky. A German gentleman from the Borussia disabled fan base contacted him back and managed to get him a ticket for an upcoming game.
We helped him to book a flight and a hotel and Mr L and his support worker were off to Germany. His team won 5-0 in front of 75,000 fans – and Mr L was one of them. He loved every moment of the weekend.
One year ago Mr L was a shadow of the man that he is not and has not only enjoyed his holiday but now knows that if you want something to happen you can make it happen. Once you have the confidence anything is possible. If you want to go down to the pub on a Saturday you can find him there watching the football – everyone knows who he is in the pub, they all know him by name and come over and say hello and have a chat about the footy.
This is just one of our many success stories….
