YOU have a family member diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease (which is a form of dementia). What now? Paarl Rotary has developed the Labyrinth Circle seminar, to help family members caring for a dementia patient to cope with this situation (which may feel like being lost in a labyrinth). The guest speakers at the first Labyrinth Circle seminar were (from left) Magda Pienaar and Yolandé Brand of True2You, Rudy du Pont (Paarl Rotary), Prof Dana Niehaus (Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University), and Karen Borochowitz (Dementia SA).
The first meeting was held in Paarl in May, where next-of-kin carers learned more about caring for a dementia patient. According to Prof Niehaus, the process of mental deterioration in these patients is irreversible, although medication may slow it down.
Typical symptoms of dementia are an inability to concentrate and plan, short-term memory problems and irritability and aggression. Untreated hearing problems and depression may contribute to the deterioration of the patient. Eventually the patients cannot drive a car, cannot care for themselves and become incontinent. Family carers suffer as much as the patient and could benefit from attending the seminars to gain information and support.
The seminars are being rolled out in the local community in surrounding towns with the support of Dementia SA and True2you so that more people can benefit. The founder of this project is Paarl Rotarian Rudy Dupont, who is originally from Belgium where a similar project known as “Dementia and Now?” for next-of-kin carers (mantelzorgers) has been run by Dementia Vlaanderen for a number of years.
The course material was obtained from the Belgian organisation and paid for by Paarl Rotary and a donor. For more information, contact rudy.dupont@telenet.be.
A singalong for dementia patients and their carers celebrated the launch of the Labyrinth Circle programme.