Personal Perspective – Putting Reablement into Practice
As a person living with Alzheimer’s Disease, John is challenging the belief that a diagnosis means ‘end of life’. Here he explains how, with adaptations and timely therapy, it is possible to live life well with dementia.
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John’s story starts here
Through his own personal story, John has taken on an advocacy role to promote the benefits of reablement for people with dementia to maintain their functionality and quality of life.
John refers to the definition of reablement taken from the booklet published through HammondCare in 2019 (funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Centre), entitled ‘Supporting independence and function in people living with dementia’ .
General reflections on Wellness and Reablement for John
John took an interest in research about the benefits of having a positive lifestyle and using the recommendations to slow down the progression of his condition. This included completing regular strengthening exercises as these have been shown to slow and even halt the degeneration of the brain.
John used his skills as an educator to create an acronym to remind him of the things he can do to live well with dementia:
N – Nutrition
A – Attitude; Acceptance
M – Mental activities; Meditation; Music
E – Exercise; Enjoyment
S – Social Engagement; Support; Setting Goals; Sleep
Dementia in Australia
Dementia Australia defines dementia as “the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a person’s functioning. It is a broad term used to describe a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills, and physical functioning. There are many types of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body disease. Dementia can happen to anybody, but it is more common after the age of 65.
Dementia is the second leading cause of death of Australians.
In 2020, there were an estimated 459,000 Australians living with dementia.
Three in 10 people over the age of 85 and almost one in 10 people over 65 have dementia
In 2020, there were an estimated 27,800 people with younger onset dementia.
In 2020, it is estimated that almost 1.6 million people in Australia are involved in the care of someone living with dementia.
To review these statistics and read more on Dementia, visit the Dementia Australia website by clicking here.