Dementia Awareness Week begins now!

This week is officially national Dementia Awareness Week, and the Alzheimer's Society are a very active charity in promoting awareness, especially on their Facebook page. Their website is a fantastic resource for anybody who wants a better understanding of what dementia is and how it can affect people.  In the UK, there are currently 800,000 people with dementia, and there are an additional 17,000 younger people with dementia in the UK. There are many different types of dementia, and the way in which the dementia affects the individual differs greatly. Check out the link to see the different types of dementia : Types of dementia

Whilst on placement, I had the privilege of meeting a man called Dennis Jubb. Dennis was diagnosed with dementia more than 10 years ago, and has been campaigning relentlessly for other people with the condition in Doncaster ever since. He co-founded the PROP (People Relying on People) group, which is a self-support organisation for people with early onset dementia and their carers. Dennis and his wife Carol were among the five founding members when the group was established in 1999. You can read this article to see more. Dennis has actually  made a DVD about the issues that young people with dementia face, and its content is really powerful. I'm trying to get hold of a few DVDs for the library at York St John, as I feel they would be really beneficial for students to watch, perhaps even as part of the curriculum. Have a read -  Dennis' Story

I've watched some of the videos provided by the Alzheimer's Society and selected a few that I think are worth watching. Their Youtube channel is 'AlzheimersSociety'.

Sue has a diagnosis of early onset dementia. I think it's great that Sue is maintaing her roles as a mother, grandmother (Nanny Noodle!) and a friend. This video highlights in a lovely way that it is important to maintain that friend balance, and to not immediately leap into the 'carer' role as soon as a diagnosis is given.

This next video is about something called 'singing for the brain'. I've not come across it before, but if any students have a dementia related placement, it would be a great opportunity to get involved in such a group.

This clip shows how the staff are providing client-centered care, despite working in a large group. It's very exciting to see the positive feedback the individuals attending the group have given, and also the feedback from their family, friends and carers. A great video!

This video shows how Clarice is still living at home with the support of her family, and still enjoying occupations but in an adapted way.

If you want to get involved in supporting the Alzhemier's Society, there are loads of ways you can help. Whether it's getting involved in their campaigns or becoming a volunteer, your time and effort really will be valued. See the link for more info on how to get involved: Alzheimer's Society - Get Involved

Now, time to crack on with these 5000 words! x

Mixed feelings?

 On the 'Mind' facebook page, I stumbled across this. Channel 4 are to broadcast a season of prime time programmes designed to challenge perceptions of mental health and discrimination.

Comedians Ruby Wax and Jon Richardson have also made programmes to accompany the '4 Goes Mad' season, which Channel 4 has developed working closely with mental health charities including the Mental Health Foundation and Time to Change.

As someone who commented has said, challenging stigma is really important, but is this the right way to go about it? I reckon it's worth a watch to see how this pans out.
Check out the link to see the article on Radio Times :

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-05-14/4-goes-mad-season-to-challenge-mental-health-stigma-and-discrimination

The typing makes me sound busy...

Well this is my first ever blog, so I'll try and tell you a little bit about what I'm planning to do on here!

So, as you can see on my info bit, I'm a second year occupational therapy student at York St John University. I love the OT course at York St John, and a great part of that is the very active OT society that we have. The idea behind this blog was initially a place where YSJ OT students could look to find resources and information that they find useful. If you scroll down on the right hand side, you'll see a range of different categories for links. Have a little look through them and see what you find useful! I'm still getting used to how it all works, but my plan is to upload posts on a weekly basis on things that have caught my eye. I'll pop a few posts up after this one to get this started, and then hopefully things will starting to fall into place!

Thanks for reading and supporting the blog :o)

Sian x

P.s. Here is a taster of what it's like to study OT at York St John University!