Nobody can deny that a dementia diagnosis is life changing, but the way you’re supported can help to ease the impact on both the carer and person living with dementia. Ensuring everyone has access to the right information and support enables people to continue living positive and fulfilling lives.
“By understanding more about dementia, you’ll be armed with information and strategies that will help you move positively along the journey” says Melissa Spearman, Education and Awareness Lead. "Supporting someone close to you with dementia can be very challenging, and many informal carers feel invisible, alone and scared for the future. But you really aren't alone. One of the aims or our Carer Education Sessions is to bring informal carers living in the same community together to learn, connect and feel less isolated."
"Our sessions are written in collaboration with people living with dementia and informal carers too. We'll discuss common symptoms, try to understand how it might feel to live with dementia and we'll share tips and strategies that have worked well for others."
"We hope you'll leave feeling less alone, with a better understanding of dementia and a stronger support system around you."
The in-person sessions have a separate space, with activities, for people living with dementia. The sessions are small, interactive, and supportive so you can learn from others and share your experience with people who understand how you’re feeling. Sessions are a safe space for you to be honest as you grapple with what your role as a carer means.
The sessions have been developed alongside the advice and guidance of Dementia Oxfordshire’s 'Experts by Experience', a group of knowledgeable carers and those living with dementia, to ensure that that the advice given is rooted in real-life experience, allowing it to be relevant and engaging to those who need it most.
A session participant gave an opinion: “It was very useful and a great help especially on how to talk and interact thinking differently when talking to my parents.” Another added: “I enjoy being with the advisors and other people in a similar position to myself. It is good to be able to talk openly and have the chance to ask questions and contribute to the sessions.”
Whether you've been caring for a long time already, or you've been recently diagnosed with dementia yourself, you'll be able to learn something new at Dementia Oxfordshire’s education sessions. They are also a great opportunity to meet people going through the same experiences as you.
You can see all the upcoming education sessions by visiting dementiaoxfordshire.org.uk/series/understanding-dementia or you can get in touch by emailing education@dementiaoxfordshire.org.uk.
Valerian Court Care Home also holds the Didcot Memory Café which is a great place for people to sit down with a hot drink and meet people who are in the same situation as you. Parking available and a bus stop nearby. The venue is wheelchair accessible. The Memory Café is open from 2pm until 4pm and you can find dates that it is held by visiting dementiaoxfordshire.org.uk/series/didcot-memory-cafe
To find out more about Dementia Oxfordshire please visit dementiaoxfordshire.org.uk
