September is associated with spring but is also the awareness month of Alzheimer’s disease. Bloemfontein Courant spoke to the social worker and acting regional manager for the Association of Dementia and Alzheimer’s of South Africa NPC (ADASA), Thakane Raditapole, who has over 14 years of experience of working in the field of Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Most people confuse Dementia and Alzheimer’s as two different illnesses, however, Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. “Dementia is an umbrella term describing a group of similar symptoms caused by various diseases of the brain,” Raditapole mentioned.
She further mentioned that this disease results in memory loss, difficulty communicating, inability to make decisions or reason, which ultimately interferes with the performance of daily activities.
“Dementia is not curable, cannot be prevented, and is progressive; meaning that it worsens with time. Eventually the person will lose the ability to live a normal life, ultimately depending on others for everything. Alzheimer’s is not a part of normal ageing.”
For this month, the NPC ADASA will be involved in a global awareness-raising campaign that focuses on changing the stigma toward dementia. The campaign’s theme is called “Time to act on dementia, Time to act on Alzheimer’s”.
The campaign is aimed at redressing stigma and discrimination around the condition and highlighting a more Dementia-friendly environment.
Raditapole urges families to learn about the disease and understand the behaviour, seek external help, know the “dos and don’ts” of communicating with the person, attend support groups, and be their advocates.
Abigail Visagie
