Happy Holidays to you and your family from Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama! Our weekly Dementia Community Calendar will resume Friday, January 10.
Make your New Year’s resolution to join a support group:
- January 14 and 28, 11 – 12:30, 300 Office Park Drive, Suite 225
- January 28, 6:30 – 8, Trussville First Baptist Church.
Super Bowl 2020 tickets will be raffled off to benefit Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, January 9, Aloft Lobby in Homewood. For more information see here or vholder@alzca.org.
News to know:
Family caregivers and providers of home care services are invited to complete a survey that will enable the Alabama Department of Senior Services and Alabama Lifespan Respite Resource Network learn about respite and caregiver support services in Alabama. The purpose of the survey is to learn more about the availability and capacity of caregiver support services for serving informal and unpaid family caregivers. The information you provide will be used to plan improvements for caregivers of people with disabilities and chronic illness.
They will NOT collect your name or Email address without your permission. Your personal identity will not be revealed to others. It will require about 20 minutes to reply to the survey. You may refuse to answer any question or discontinue participation at any time without penalty. This information will play a critical role in recommendations being made to state legislators. Help us in sending a message to Alabama’s legislators.
Survey must be completed by December 31.
For more info Traci Dunklin at 1-800-243-5463 or 1-800 Age Line.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGRLND8 For Providers
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GBZ66GY For Family Caregivers
“Finally, we decided Alzheimer’s is not going to run our lives. We are going to live as fully as we can and not worry about tomorrow.” Read A Carlen Maddux blog post featuring UsAgainstAlzheimer’s advocates Geri and Jim Taylor. Geri, has early-onset AD, not only accepted her diagnosis, but works to continually improve personal tools and techniques to compensate for her changing condition. Jim, however, struggled to come to terms.
A December 16, 2019 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s release praised the announcement that Congress agreed upon a $350 million increase to the NIH for Alzheimer’s and dementia research in 2020. The legislation containing this NIH research funding is expected to be voted on this week by the House and Senate, sending the legislation to President Trump. The legislation, when approved, would increase funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research to $2.8 billion.
A December 17, 2019 MD Mag article reflected on the past decade in Alzheimer’s disease research and where we go from here.
A December 17, 2019 WBUR article looked at a clinical trial assessing if better lighting can help calm symptoms of dementia such as agitation and sundowning. The study found bright LED light exposure throughout the day increased sleep quality, appetite and social interaction, and decreased depression and agitation. “For seniors with Alzheimer’s, lighting interventions appear to give caretakers a powerful tool, if not a silver bullet, to reduce negative symptoms that often go hand-in-hand with a disease that affects more than 5 million people in the U.S.”
“We would like to savor our time with him, but we’re often consumed by the work of keeping him safe”. Read more about one family’s journey. The Unending Indignities of Alzheimer’s (New York Times, December 1, 2019)
Two upcoming webinars from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA):
Understanding Vision Impairment and How to Help January 9, 2020)
Taking Action: Assisting Victims of Financial Fraud February 13, 2020)
There are 2 teen essay contests for teens:
Hilarity for Charity, a national Alzheimer’s non profit organization founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, is sponsoring Humans of Dementia: An Intergenerational Storytelling Contest with support from AARP, Generations United, Memory Well, and Associated Collegiate Press and National Scholastic Press Association. To be eligible, the writer must be currently enrolled in high school or college in the U.S. or Canada and the story must feature someone currently living with or who has passed away from Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Learn more on theHumans of Dementia submission webpage. The deadline is March 13, 2020.
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is holding their annual Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarship Essay Contest for college-bound high school seniors. Applicants are asked to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word essay that describes the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned in light of coping with the brain disorder. The grand prize winner receives $5,000, with additional prizes awarded for runners up. Submission deadline is Friday, January 17th, 2020.
https://alzfdn.org/young-leaders-of-afa/scholarship-contest/
Did you know? Planet Fundraiser is an app that lets you give back to non-profits, schools, and groups simply by taking a picture of receipts from merchants you already shop at. You shop and participating merchants donate to the charity of your choice. To date almost $1600 has been donated to ACA.
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