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Speaker 1: Let's find out about Dementia Action Week. Doctor David Sykes,

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Speaker 1: Director Center for Dementia Learning, Good morning.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Matthew, good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Tell me about Dementia Week. What do we need to

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Speaker 1: know about this first week Awareness Week?

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Speaker 2: So we have this each year and this year we've

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Speaker 2: just released a report on the discrimination and stigma that

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Speaker 2: still exists for the more than four hundred and twenty

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Speaker 2: one thousand Australians and the one point six million people

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Speaker 2: providing care and support to them, the discrimination and stigma

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Speaker 2: they continue to face on a daily basis, which is

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Speaker 2: why as part of this year's DIM Action Week, we're

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Speaker 2: really calling on communities, all levels of government to really

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Speaker 2: increase their awareness of an understanding of dementia to be

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Speaker 2: the solution to really change the way people interact with

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Speaker 2: someone living with dementia and support them to be part

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Speaker 2: of the community.

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Speaker 1: You must be concerned. I'm sure just generally people would

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Speaker 1: be alarmed to hear that some sixty eight percent, it's

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Speaker 1: almost two thirds of people. In fact, it is two

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Speaker 1: thirds of people in the country don't have awareness or

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Speaker 1: knowledge about dementia.

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Speaker 2: Look, it is concerning when this is the second leading

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Speaker 2: cause of death behind cardiovascular disease. It's the leading cause

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Speaker 2: of death for women and people age over the age

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Speaker 2: of sixty five. So this is a major health issue

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Speaker 2: for this country, and yet that lack of awareness and

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Speaker 2: understanding of it is a significant concern to us, as

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Speaker 2: it should be to everyone.

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Speaker 1: Should it be dementia be considered as a disability? Is

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Speaker 1: that where we're thinking these days it should be treated

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Speaker 1: as such.

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Speaker 2: We'll look for people under the age of sixty five

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Speaker 2: who develop ventura younger onset dementia as we call it.

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Speaker 2: They actually receive support from India, so they are considered

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Speaker 2: to have a disability in that context in terms of

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Speaker 2: receiving services and support. I think the bigger question is

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Speaker 2: whether you're calling le disability. Whatever you categorize it as,

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Speaker 2: is really to increase that understanding and reduce the fear

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Speaker 2: that so many people seem to have around dementia. And

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Speaker 2: I think part of that is because you can't see it,

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Speaker 2: and it does affect the way people can communicate, the

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Speaker 2: way they can be anxious in situations, the way their

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Speaker 2: mood can change as a result of developing dementia. So

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Speaker 2: I understand that that can be concerning for people but

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Speaker 2: through understanding that can help drive improved connection with people

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Speaker 2: and engagement with them, and which is our whole community.

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Speaker 2: There's some great examples of intergenerational programs where we've got

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Speaker 2: childcare facilities partnering with age facilities to really improve the

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Speaker 2: understanding and kids don't have a lot of a lot

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Speaker 2: of the judgments that adults tend to bring to these situations,

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Speaker 2: and so they can There's some really great examples on

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Speaker 2: our website for people to view at dementia dot org

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Speaker 2: dot au if they want to know more about those

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Speaker 2: or indeed how they can do more themselves to support

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Speaker 2: and engage and connect with someone living with dementia.

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Speaker 1: Obviously, getting and younger people involved in this at an

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Speaker 1: early age knowledge that just sets it up well for

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Speaker 1: the future, doesn't it. I mean, it might take absolutely

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Speaker 1: decades for it to flow through, but it will.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's right, And because it's so common in our community,

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Speaker 2: the chances are they're going to have a family member

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Speaker 2: who has dementia. So the more we can get there

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Speaker 2: early and improve that understanding and they can hopefully be

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Speaker 2: educators for adults in modeling that that less stigmatize, less

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Speaker 2: judgment approach to connecting with people living with dementia because

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Speaker 2: they're people like you and I, and we shouldn't be

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Speaker 2: putting those things in the way of that. They've got

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Speaker 2: enough challenges with the disease and the condition. They don't

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Speaker 2: need us to be creating and making that situation any worse.

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Speaker 2: And sadly, one of the things so many people living

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Speaker 2: with dementia report to us is the first thing they

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Speaker 2: lose is their network of friends.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's sad indeed, because that provides stability, doesn't it

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Speaker 1: to some degree.

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Speaker 2: Well, it provides stability, it provides connection, It provides all

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Speaker 2: of the things that we know import to us as

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Speaker 2: human beings, that their chance to have reinforced our qualities

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Speaker 2: as a human so and things we can engage with

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Speaker 2: on daily basis. So you lose so much when you

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Speaker 2: lose that network of friends, but certainly is part of

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Speaker 2: the week. Really encourage people to if they're affected by dementia,

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Speaker 2: if they're supporting someone living with dementia, if they've just

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Speaker 2: got cuers and concerns about how they can connect better

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Speaker 2: with someone living with dementia, really encourage them to call

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Speaker 2: our National Dementia Helpline, which is open twenty four hours,

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Speaker 2: seven days a week, one eight hundred, one hundred five

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Speaker 2: hundred for further information and that way we can all

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Speaker 2: do more to really make this a really great community

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Speaker 2: for everyone.

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Speaker 1: Indeed, David, appreciate your time. Thank you, my pleasure, Doctor

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Speaker 1: David Sykes, who is with the Center for Dementia Learning,

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Speaker 1: the director in fact, and that number again and this

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Speaker 1: is really good, twenty four hours, seven days a week

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Speaker 1: to have this available one eight hundred, one hundred, five hundred,

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Speaker 1: eighteen hundred, one hundred five hundred for any dementia related

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Speaker 1: questions you might have. There is someone there to provide

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Speaker 1: you with answers and guide you in the right direction.

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Speaker 1: Wonderful