Dementia Dialogue

​​Learning what helps are available and how to use them is a major issue for people with dementia and care partners. One of the major issues in Primary Care is time. This is especially a challenge in caring for a patient with dementia. Michelle Janisse, MSW is a First Link Navigator who describes her role in working with families to navigate the system and with Primary Care to bolster their capaci...

Ron Roberts was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease 5 years ago. Except for being told he had AD and could no longer drive, not much more information was provided to him. After doing his own research on how to maintain his health, among other things, Ron enrolled in the BA program at Kings College at Western University and plans to get his degree in 2021. Ron also speaks to medical and social work...

Ngozi Iroanyah recounts some of her father, Felix’s, experience with dementia, and how she as a daughter, along with her stepmother Gean and brothers Azu and Chuck, are supporting him. Ngozi shares some of her “techniques” in trying to keep connected to various health care providers and the family and to manage transitions that they all confront, as her dad’s dementia proceeds. Cultural awareness...

In the last episode of our series on Human Rights and Dementia, listeners discuss the various Calls to Action issues by our interviewees. Mary Beth Wighton, a leading dementia activist and co-chair of Dementia Advocacy Canada and Jillian McConnel of the brainXchange co-host the discussion.  

In our third episode on this theme, we take a more global view of Human Rights and Dementia. Stefanie Freel is a Canadian who is a consultant with the World Health Organization and lives in The Netherlands. Stefanie outlines work at the UN and WHO to codify and promote human rights for persons with mental disabilities, including dementia.   We then speak with Kate Swaffer who leads Dementia Allian...

 In this second episode on Human Rights and Dementia, we talk with  Christine Telker  a dementia activist  from British Columbia and a member of Dementia Alliance International, a worldwide network of people with dementia. Jane Barratt leads the International Federation on Ageing and is working to advance a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. Dr. Deb O’Connor teaches at UBC and helps us und...

This episode outlines the connection between human rights and dementia, with particular attention to the impact of COVID-19 on long term care. Mario is a dementia activist who is a co-creator of a Canadian Charter of Rights for Canadians with Dementia for the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Laura Tamblyn-Watts of CanAge is a lawyer and leading advocate for older people and Margaret Gillis leads the I...

Episode 6: Too often people can drift away, but Penny Sather has not. As a member of a large extended family, Penny has helped the family out as they supported their mother and mother-in-law and now Penny is doing what she can to support her brother-in-law, Al. 

Episode 5: Susan and her husband were looking forward to the perfect retirement until life interrupted. Susan describes how she reframed her experience and found ways to affirm her husband’s strengths, even as they diminished. In the process, she found new strengths within herself.

Episode 4: Louise Milligan’s husband Gord was diagnosed with dementia while still teaching and raising two daughters. Louise speaks eloquently about the challenges their family faced and how she was able to use community resources to help. 

Episode 3: Roxanne Varey has dementia and has become an advocate for creating more opportunities for people with dementia in the workplace. Roxanne has written poetry to help her understand and express some of her inner experience.

Episode 2 of the Changing and Adapting series features an interview with Guy Chadsey whose spouse Alison has dementia. Guy talks about some of the early indications of Alison’s condition, his changing relationship with Alison and his effort to live positively.

Episode 1: Our series is introduced by a panel of 4 people talking about the importance of “Pumping  Up the Volume” so that people with lived experience will have their voices heard. Panellists include advocates for people with dementia and care partners, our research associate and a dementia educator.