Awareness Session, Skit on Dementia and Memory Screening Camp at Gunrock Ladies Association
Topic:Understanding Dementia and What is Healthy Cognitive aging?
Facilitator: Dr. Suvarna Alladi, Additional Professor and Neurologist at NIMS, Hyderabad; President, ARDSI
Date: 18th December, 2014
Place: Gunrock Ladies Association, Gunrock Enclave Community Hall,Secunderabad, Telangana
Time: 1.30-6pm
- The programme commenced at 1.30 and was attended by close to 60 people including NIMS Memory Clinic, Yashoda Hospital and ARDSI staff. Literature on Dementia in English was distributed to the audience.
- The programme commenced with a memory screening camp for the Gunrock Ladies Association members. The members were first screened by a neurologist, Dr Swati from Yashoda hospital, before being tested by psychologists using a standardised global cognitive assessment tool. More than 40 people were screened in 3 hours, and certificates giving details of the subject's scores and what it meant about their cognitive health were handed out to each subject.
- At around 4.45 the children of Gunrock Enclave performed a short skit adapted from scenes of the ARDSI puppet show on dementia- The Lady in The Mirror. The children aged between 10 and 16 were much applauded for their attempt to condense and portray an immensely challenging message in their brief performance.
- At around 5.15pm, Dr Suvarna Alladi began her talk on dementia, its prevalence in India, risk and protective factors and the concept of the life course perspective on dementia and healthy cognitive ageing.
- She went on to speak about the history of the NIMS Memory Clinic and ARDSI, and the process of assessing and counseling a patient and their care-givers by the staff. She enumerated the different services offered by ARDSI and about the Zeba Bashiruddin Centre for Healthy Aging set up to cater to dementia patients, caregivers and healthy adults.
- She concluded with different methods to preserve one's memory such as regular exercise, balanced diet, and cognitively stimulating exercises and about how delaying the onset of dementia by adapting one's life course was imperative.
- A brief question and answer session followed in which the audience clarified their doubts about the difference between normal forgetting and pathological forgetting, about their interest in the Zeba Bashiruddin Centre for Healthy Aging and other queries regarding dementia and healthy aging.
- The session ended with a sumptuous high tea organised by the Gunrock Ladies Association over conversations about the session and dementia.
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