Author: Peter

Chair of trustees Reflections

Carers’ Group: 12 February

by Peter, posted in Carers Group

We had a broad discussion on issues affecting our carers. Some of the points raised included:

 

Blue Badge success

One of the group told us that her mother had been successful in meeting the requirements of this parking scheme. While the lady with dementia could walk, to a limited degree, she refused to do so. Following a full assessment the Badge was granted!

You can find more details on the Blue Badge in Greenwich scheme here.

 

Memory aids

We discussed aids such as diaries, whiteboard and clocks with clear displays including the day of the week.

The Alzheimer’s Society offer suggestions and guidance here

 

Self-belief and self-worth of the carer

It can be hard caring for someone and your self-belief can sometimes become strained. The group suggested some simple practical options: try looking in the mirror and tell yourself what a good job you are doing; list your achievements; keep a gratitude journal; discuss issues with trusted friends and family.

Some more sensible practical advice from Which here

 

Your home

Home security can be a worry when you are caring for someone. You also need to consider the implications of letting people into the home of the person you care for. There can be benefits, but what if something goes wrong?

Age UK have advice on home security here

 

Next Carers’ Group meeting will be on Monday 12 March

“Someone I Used to Know” BBC Radio 4 book of the week

by Peter, posted in Uncategorized

We have just finished listening to this book on the BBC iPlayer. Someone I Used to Know it is the story of Wendy Mitchell who was diagnosed with early onset dementia aged 58. In the first episode she describes the symptoms she had which prompted her to seek help. It is worth listening to. The more we can understand first hand experiences of people living with dementia the better we will be able to help them live well in our communities. Episode 1 is here

October 31st: Halloween fun

by Peter, posted in Dementia Friends

A Halloween themed afternoon. 35 Friends came along to join in the fun. Lots of lovely goodies were donated for sharing, including the biscuits shown, which were made by the daughter of a carer.

There were Halloween quizzes and an opportunity to made a pine cone bat or a rosemary broomstick. It is believed that rosemary wards off evil and helps with memory recall. There was also an opportunity to take part in our Halloween raffle to win one of the carved pumpkins and a few other prizes.

As other events will be happening before we next meet, we also did a gunpowder plot quiz and a Remembrance wordsearch. As usual, we finished with a sing-a-long.

A memorable afternoon.

Thank you to Shrewsbury House for the great decorations in the room. We were lucky they had a party booked immediately after our group, so had decorated the room in advance.

 

 

 

October 17th: The return of Tony

by Peter, posted in Uncategorized

Another wonderful afternoon, with Tony entertaining the group. The group always look forward to him coming. There was plenty of singing and dancing. Ring of Fire was especially popular and we think Tony is considering recruiting the group as his backing band.

We always believe in fulfilling the wishes of Friends, if we are able to. Just before Tony started singing, we were approached by one Friend who asked if they could sing a song to the group that they had been practicing. Although their speech has been affected by dementia, they sang beautifully, had a wonderful voice, and got a huge round of applause from the group. A special moment.

 

 

Carers’ Group: 9th October

by Peter, posted in Uncategorized

This evening 6 carers came along and we had a very full session. We welcomed Cathy to the team and she and Julie supported 1 person while their carer attended the group session.

The issues discussed by the group were:

  • Feedback from the previous session – One carer reported that she had found the previous session really helpful and beneficial. She had been using the tips she had learnt and was coping better. Another carer reported that, as a result of attending the group, he had started talking about things he didn’t know he felt.
  • Self care – The emotional impact of caring can be hard. Self care is vitally important. Carers to recognise it is not selfish to talk about their own needs. You can’t pour from an empty vessel.
  • Deflection – Learning to adapt to situations and use strategies when interacting with the person with dementia. Use distraction techniques.
  • Handling bad days – Try not to make a bad day worse than it is, try to keep calm and on an even keel, be prepared to walk away, if necessary. Even during bad times here will be good, and positive, moments. Use choice power to focus on these and let the bad times go.
  • Music – The group talked about the power of music. A carer reported she had read that the songs we hear between the ages of 15 and 25 are the ones we remember most.

The next Carers’ Group is on Monday 13th November.

We look forward to seeing you next time.

Carers’ Group: 11th September

by Peter, posted in Carers Group

We were pleased to welcome 4 new members and 1 returning member. All the usual regulars sent their apologies and said they would be back next time.

As we had so many new people we recapped some of the items we had discussed before.

We discussed:

  • Feelings of isolation.
  • Dealing with differences of opinion: who’s reality is “real”,  is the “truth” worth an argument?
  • The impact of a loved one going into care.
  • The black spot analogy – a disease is only one part of a person’s story.
  • The bookcase analogy – the effect of dementia on memory.
  • The need for carers to look after themselves as their first priority.
  • Good reads: info here
  • Carers Toolkit : Understanding the different types of memory, how they are used all the time seamlessly and the impact of breaks in the chains.

After the meeting there was some discussion about:

  • The benefits and downsides to moving home after a diagnosis and the Alzheimer’s Society’s discussion forum “Talking Point”: info here
  • How people with dementia may be affected by noise: info here
  • The possible link between pollution and dementia: info here
  • The Alzheimer’s Society’s information hub: info here

Janet also suggested members consider joining a Mooc / Coursera course. These sites have many types of free courses including one about dementia. *: info here.

As a new feature, where carers are supporting someone remotely and not able to attend our Friendship Group, we are providing copies of our puzzles and quizzes from the previous Friendship Group session so they can do them together.

* We have not yet taken the course on dementia so are unable to provide any comment about it. However it looks interesting.

The next Carers’ Group is on Monday 9th October.

We look forward to seeing you next time.

 

August 22nd: Knitting & Archery

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Another lovely afternoon with 28 friends coming along.

Thank you to Angelika, of Dementia Dialogue, who kindly came along to host a knitting session and provided the needles and wool. People had the opportunity to knit a memory purse, to contain a strip of paper with their happy memory written on it. Some lovely purses were made.

Thanks again to Marc (nice shirt!) for once again providing a great archery session, perhaps for the last time, as he hopes to take up a full-time job soon. You’re welcome back anytime, if you have a spare afternoon.

We also had time for a sing-song and some quizzes.

See you next time,