JULY CAREGIVER'S MEETING
Topic: - Challenges faced by family caregivers in Dementia care
Facilitator: MsSaadiya, Centre Manager and Psychologist at ARDSI Hyderabad Deccan
Date: 28th July 2018
Place: Dementia Daycare and Activity Centre ARSDI-Hyderabad Deccan activity centre
Time: 11:00 am-1 pm
- The caregivers session was attended by an audience of a total 25 people, which was a mix group of dementia caregivers and dementia volunteers. The session started with a round of introduction of all participants, MsSaadiya, facilitating the meeting gave a brief introduction about challenges faced daily in Dementia care and gave an explanatory speech to simplify the meeting purpose for the caregivers.
- After the introduction, the caregivers were asked the question: ‘Any three aspects of care giving that you find difficult?’. Each caregiver shared their difficulties in an open session.
- Ms A, shared that the most hard thing to cope up with is the short term memory loss that is not only physically draining her energy but also causing a lot of emotional distress. She then continued to talk about how it becomes difficult for her to answer the PWD’s repetitive questions. She also mentioned about her difficulties in convincing her spouse to get out of the home for a fresh walk or socialising. Her main concern was finding a male attender.
- Another caregiver Mr K, expressed his views on the financial difficulties he has to face but also gave a brief on his experience on how over the period of years he has dealt with his wife and in what ways has these caregiver meetings helped him
- Ms R had also mentioned about her initial difficulties of making her PWD stepping out of the house and clumsiness but how she saw a change after joining the day-care. Mr S, a caregiver further kept his views on how the biggest challenge is changing of symptoms followed by lack of communication. He highlighted on the challenges faced with paid-attender.
- The group discussion ended with MsSaadiya addressing their concerns followed by suggestions given by MsPreetiBhanushali, who is ex-caregiver and a regular volunteer at the centre . The meeting gave opportunity to caregivers voice their concerns and difficulties faced in dementia care.
- MsPrabhaKrishnan attended the session in rememberence of Late Prof Rama Krishanan as it was his death anniversary. The group observed two minutes silence and prayers also a poem was recited by Rinki, a student at ARDSI Hyderabad in Remembrance of Late Professor R. Ramakrishnan.
