As always, we have made the following updates based on the generous feedback from our users:
New Section added: “Helping the person to make his/her own decision”
Over 100 Section updates on all SCIE resources, driving and assessment forms, swallowing, alternative food options, inclusion/ exclusion criteria and more.
We have also recently been included as a key dementia support tool by Tasmania Government’s Find Help Tas portal.
Note: Please refresh your browser to see the updates.
Content updates
New Section on 'Helping the person to make his/her own decisons'
As dementia (or cognitive impairment) progresses, it is often assumed that the person can no longer make decisions. This is not quite correct, as the person usually does not lose all capacity to make their decision right away.
It is important for all professionals and carers to support the person to his/her own decisions. And it’s important to note that capacity is usually not a blanket term, rather, it is in relation to specific matters, such as capacity in making decisions regarding personal care, financial or other specific matters.
You can explore this Section within the Topic "Future planning: legal matters" from the 'More Topics' tab (CARER tool) or the 'Home' tab (PRO tool), or search using keywords like "decision making’, ‘capacity’ etc.
Update to all SCIE resources
The Social Care Institute of Excellence in the UK has traditionally housed some very helpful and practical resources on dementia care, particularly on changed behaviors and more rare care strategies.
Unfortunately due to a recent restructure, they have removed their dementia resources. We have updated over 100 such resources within My Dementia Companion, with newer and fresher replacements, including many more practical and shorter videos.
You can continue to use both CARER and PRO as normal.
Other updates
As we constantly update our curated resources, we have made hundreds of other updates, including a significantly more practical video across both tools, driving and assessment forms, swallowing, alternative food options, inclusion/ exclusion criteria and more.
You can explore the above updates by searching using relevant keywords.
Note: minor updates are not documented here, such as some wording changes, URL changes, reference updates etc.
More recognition
Moving a loved one into residential aged care is not a small decision, which can affect every
Featured tip
Moving a loved one into residential aged care is not a small decision, which can affect every member of the family and friends. The following tip from El in NSW demonstrated how her slightly changed communication with family members has resulted in mum receiving the care she needed.
I had a challenging time with my mum and the rest of family when I wanted to put her into nursing home. I was frustrated because all experts say she needs to. Then I was told I should communicate in a more positive way. So I changed it to "Giving mum the option to have 24 hour expert care at a central location to all of us". After a few go at this, it really helped and everyone is happy for her to move into permanent care.
Don’t forget to review the Topic “Aged care and dementia” for more strategies and suggestions on managing this emotional and potentially complex part of one's journey.
