Elephants never .....

[nikita]

badges

the autistic society bhas cards for carers saying this person has autism please if you are concerned about them please ring.....
we use them atr work very useful if a person is having an outburst and hiting u etc, something like this would work for the carers

 

[Chris]

For a picture of a card see www.alzheimers.org.au

an Australian website. The care was based on one produced by Alzheimers Scotland.
I cant seem to cut and paste the photo of the care sorry!

"Card for People with Early Stage Dementia

This card is particularly useful for people who are in the early stages of dementia, and might need help and understanding at certain times, e.g. to show a bus driver who is getting impatient. "

 

[John Bottomley]

Cards

We have cards generated by our local Prop (People Relying On People) support group that are very well received.

One is used, when going to banks and the like, which says :
I have memory loss due to dementia.
At times I am unable to fill out forms or remember personal details.
Please assist me discreetly.
Many thanks

Another is used by carers, and says :
My companion has an illness which causes memory loss and confusion.
Please excuse any unusual behaviour.

They're discreet cards that can be used when needed, but don't advertise the issues, and certainly have worked well in the locale.

 

[Jude]

Dear All,

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed a comment here regarding Elephant Badges. The consensus of opinion from the AS today, is that badges would not be a good idea due to ethical reasons and that labelling people as having AD is not recommended.

However, the Society is very much in favour of the card system, which is something that all carers can arrange individually according to their choice.

Best wishes,

Jude

 

[Izzy]

I have attempted to attach copy of card from Alz Scot site. The site address is as follows:

http://www.alzscot.org/info/helpcard.html

Izzy

 

[Jude]

Dear Iz,

The card has come through beautifully. Thank you.

Jude

 

[frazer]

I appreciate the desire not to "label" people; and this a slightly different tack, but how do we make the powers aware of the extent of this horrible disease?

 

[Chris]

Hello Frazer

My latest idea to get the 'powers' to understand what it is really like to have dementia or to have someone close to you with it is -
get them to read this Forum ! I'm finding this sounds simple but is very difficult - so am resorting to asking if printing off some of the threads would be OK - just small snippets - once people realise how easy it is to get close to the problems I reckon they will start to use Talking Point more & we could really make some progress with 'Service user and carer involvement ' - that all Health and Social Services have to be implementing.

Some evidence to support this - our local AS Branch has a Newsletter & in each one is a Carers Story - a real life account of soem aspect of their caring experience. We have had a lot of feedback from local professionals and I believe it has helped in their understanding of the carers situation .

Chris