Living with Dementia
What if I have Dementia?
A diagnosis of dementia usually comes as a shock. However for some people there may also be a sense of relief, that the symptoms they have been experiencing are due to a disease or condition for which help may be available.
Useful Information
The Alzheimer's Society have produced a very helpful factsheet, that suggests things you can do that will help to make life easier and more enjoyable, both now and in the future What if I have dementia?
There is a monthly magazine Living with Dementia, which is free to members of the Alzheimer's Society but can be downloaded free from their website irrespective of membership. They have information about advances in research as well as general issues relating to living with dementia.
Contact details for the Alzheimer's Society:
Alzheimer's Society,
Devon House
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1JX
Telephone:+44 (0) 20 7423 3500
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 020 7423 3501
Local Support Groups for people living with dementia
In Oxfordshire there are three groups where people can meet others who are also living with dementia:
The ISIS lunch club meets every 6-8 weeks in a Church Hall in Headington, Oxford. It brings together those living with dementia and their carers from all over Oxfordshire. There is no charge for the lunch and entertainment is provided. An opportunity to meet and enjoy the company of others.
Referral is mainly through contact with the Memory Clinics. If you would like more information please contact David Janes or Brenda Green, Memory Clinic and Carers Support Workers, on 01865 455816 or a member of the local branch of the Alzheimer's Society.
It is hoped that similar lunches will soon be started elsewhere in Oxfordshire, so that they can be made available to more people.
Teas are held at locations in Didcot about every six weeks. The teas provide an opportunity to meet with others over tea and cakes, and also to enjoy entertainment such as hand-bell ringing and tea-dances. The teas take place from 2.00 to 4.00 pm.
Contact Stella Inston on 01865 876508 for further information.
There is also an Alzheimer's Society Support Group which meets on the first Monday of the month (but not on Bank Holidays), from 10.30am to noon. This group is held in the outpatient's building at Chipping Norton Hospital. It is a chance to meet with other people who know what it's like for you, and chat over a cup of tea or coffee. At some meetings there may also be a visiting speaker, or a chance to take part in an activity (e.g. pottery painting). There is no charge for these meetings.
The group is for people who have memory problems or dementia, or who care for someone who does. Feel free to just come along, you would be made most welcome.
More details are available from Jean Ware-Morphy on 01295 720019.
Support Online
The Alzheimer's Society has several online forums, where you can post questions and relevant comments for other people who are also living with dementia
