Dementia resources for young people

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Dementia Australia Library

Dementia is a complicated and emotional topic for everyone. Many resources are available for adults but only a few resources are specifically designed for the information needs of young adults, teenagers or children. This post features a selection of resources on dementia for young people. All titles are available for loan through the Alzheimer’s Australia Vic library and may also be available via your local public library service.

Website: Dementia In My Family by Alzheimer’s Australia Vic

dementiainmyfamilywebsite_small Children and teens of all ages impacted by a diagnosis of dementia in their family can now find support and information at our newly launched website, dementiainmyfamily.org.au

Featuring videos, games and quizzes, this site is full of colourful, interactive, age-appropriate content about dementia. Kids and teens can read the shared experiences of others in similar circumstances and learn they are not alone. They will find ideas to make sense of what is happening in their families and how to take care of themselves, as well as information on how to get more help if they need it.

This excellent site offers young people of all ages tailored information on dementia.

Books for readers aged 0 – 6

Book: When My Grammy Forgets, I Remember : A Child’s Perspective on Dementia By Toby Haberkorn, Illustrated by Heather Varkarotas (2015)

when my grammy forgets I remember When My Grammy Forgets, I Remember: A Child’s Perspective on Dementia provides conversational openings and stimulates discussion between parents and children about compassion and this debilitating disease. Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia not only affect the person living with the disease, but the entire family, including the children. This story explores the difficult reality of dementia and the bittersweet changing relationship between a granddaughter and her grandmother. By including children in the family discussion, parents help them become resilient and empower them to provide comfort for the grandparent or loved one with Alzheimer’s.

Book: My Grandpa by Marta Altes (2013)

My grandpa is getting old but that’s how he is, and I love him. This unique look at old age through the eyes of a young bear is big-hearted, poignant, and beautifully observed. Whether they are boldly traveling the world in an armchair or quietly listening to the song of a hidden bird, the mutual adoration of grandfather and grandson is warmly evident.

Book: A day with grandpa by Fiona Rose (2014)

day with grandpa Take your child by the hand and enter grandpa’s enchanted world, where everything is possible for a day. Every page bursts forth with magical images that add extra meaning to the poetic story of a child and his grandad.

Books for readers aged 6 – 10

Book: Weeds in Nana’s Garden : A Heartfelt Story of Love That Helps Explain Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias. By Kathryn Harrison (2016)

weeds A young girl and her Nana hold a special bond that blooms in the surroundings of Nana’s magical garden. Then one day, the girl finds many weeds in the garden. She soon discovers that her beloved Nana has Alzheimer’s Disease; an illness that affects an adult brain with tangles that get in the way of thoughts, kind of like how weeds get in the way of flowers. As time passes, the weeds grow thicker and her Nana declines, but the girl accepts the difficult changes with love, and learns to take-over as the magical garden’s caregiver. Extending from the experience of caring for her mother, artist Kathryn Harrison has created this poignant story with rich illustrations to candidly explore dementia diseases, while demonstrating the power of love. It is a journey that will cultivate understanding and touch your heart. After the story, a Question and Answer section about Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia is included.

YouTube: Kids4Dementia, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW (2015)

Children and grandchildren of people with dementia speak frankly about what it is like having a relative with dementia.

Book: Always my grandpa : a story for children about Alzheimer’s disease by Linda Scacco, illustrated by Nicole Wong (2006)

always my grandpa This heartwarming tale describes what it is like to be close to a grandparent who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Daniel and his mom spend every summer with his Grandpa at a cottage by the sea. Daniel loves these summer visits: playing baseball, walking on the beach, watching the sunset, and hearing Grandpa’s stories of his fishing boat. As the summer passes, Grandpa begins to change. Daniel learns that since Grandpa has Alzheimer’s disease, he will have trouble remembering all the things that belong to him—his clothes, his words, his memories—and eventually, his own grandson.

Through gentle narration and easy-to-understand explanations, the book explains Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects children, and families.

A Note to Parents offers guidance for helping children with common emotions and reactions to Alzheimer’s disease.

YouTube: My Grandmum, My Papu, My Grandpa and Me by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW (2014)

My Grandmum, My Papu, My Grandpa and Me is an animated series produced by Alzheimer’s Australia NSW which features three children, Ezekiel, aged six, Bibi, aged nine, and Julia, aged 11, talking about their experiences of their grandparent with dementia, in their own words.

Book: Haven House : A Child’s Perspective of Alzheimer’s Disease by Rebecca Darling (2016)

haven house Gillian loves to spend time with her Nanny. They enjoy precious moments together, from long walks in the park to drawing beautiful pictures with special colored pencils. Gillian also loves to hear Nanny’s stories about their family. Gillian starts to notice changes in Nanny. She begins to lose interest in activities and becomes easily confused. As nanny’s health declines and dementia sets in, Gillian must accept her Nanny’s condition and find new ways to love and connect with her.

This story includes the person with dementia’s transition from family-based care to a specialised residential aged care setting and explains this with sensitivity and respect in an age-appropriate way.

Books for readers aged 10 – 15

Book: The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastman (2011)

memory cage Alex’s grandfather keeps forgetting things, and Alex has overheard his adoptive parents say that they’re going to put granddad in a home. His grandfather begs Alex to save him from that, and it’s a promise Alex is desperate to keep. But Alex once promised his little brother that he would save him, and in the terror of the Bosnian war, he failed. As Alex struggles to protect his grandfather, he uncovers secrets that his family and the village have kept for two generations. Unravelling them will cause grief, but will they save grandfather, and perhaps help Alex come to terms with his own private war?

Book: Sundae Girl by Cathy Cassidy

sundae girl Jude’s family are crazy, quirky, bizarre …her mum brings her nothing but trouble and her dad thinks he’s Elvis! All she wants is a hassle-free life – but it’s not easy when she’s chasing a trail of broken promises. To add to the complications, Jude’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease and her grandfather is very busy caring for her. Things go from bad to worse, but could the floppy-haired boy from school be her knight on shining rollerblades …?

Books for readers aged 15+

Book: Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar (2016)

hour of bees When Carol and her family move to her grandfather’s deserted ranch in order to transfer him to a care home, Carol struggles to cope with the suffocating heat and the effects of her grandfather’s dementia. Bees seem to be following her around, but the drought means this is impossible. She must be imagining things. Yet when her grandfather chooses her as the subject for his stories – tales of a magical healing tree, a lake, and the grandmother she never knew – Carol sees glimmers of something special in what her parents dismiss as Serge’s madness. As she rethinks her roots and what she thought she knew about her family, Carol comes to the realization that Serge’s past is quickly catching up with her present. A stunning coming-of-age story.

Book: Unbecoming by Jenny Downham (2015)

unbecoming Three women – three secrets – one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can’t reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie’s grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and ‘capable of anything’, despite living with Alzheimer’s disease. As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her.

You can find more dementia stories and resources for children, tweens and teenagers here, in a previous post on this topic.

Remember: All titles are available for loan through the Alzheimer’s Australia Vic library and may also be available via your local public library service.

Recent dementia publications

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Dementia Australia Library

This post identifies some recent publications on dementia. These books are all available from the library – if you can’t make it to our Hawthorn location we encourage you to call us on 03 9815 7800 and we can organise to send books to you. Remember, we do need you to be an Alzheimer’s Australia Vic member to provide this service.

Book: Where the Light Gets in : Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Foreword by Michael J Fox, 2016

Many know Kimberly Williams-Paisley as the bride in the popular Steve Martin remakes of the”Father of the Bride”movies, the calculating Peggy Kenter on”Nashville,” or the wife of country music artist, Brad Paisley. But behind the scenes, Kim’s mother, Linda, was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia that slowly took away her ability to talk, write and eventually recognize people in her own family. “Where the Light Gets In” tells the full story of Linda’s illness called primary progressive aphasia from her early-onset diagnosis at the age of 62 through the present day. Kim draws a candid picture of the ways her family reacted for better and worse, and how she, her father and two siblings educated themselves, tried to let go of shame and secrecy, made mistakes, and found unexpected humour and grace. Ultimately the bonds of family were strengthened, and Kim learned ways to love and accept the woman her mother became. With a moving foreword by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox, “Where the Light Gets In” is a heartwarming tribute to the often fragile yet unbreakable relationships we have with our mothers.”

DVD: Looks like Laury, Sounds like Laury, Pamela Hogan & Connie Shulman, 2015

looks like laury What would you do if you started to disappear? At the age of 45, our friend Laury Sacks, an ebullient actress and the doting mother of two small children, had a reputation as the quickest wit in the room. At the age of 46, she began forgetting words. Soon she could barely speak.

Our film, Looks Like Laury Sounds Like Laury, captures one year in the long, but short journey of frontotemporal dementia, a little-understood disease that strikes people in the prime of life.

But back to Laury. She lived on the Upper Westside in Manhattan with her husband, Eric, and their two young children. She had been an actress/writer for many years prior to having kids, and then devoted her time to being a mom and writing a memoir about her unconventional childhood. But a memoir requires memories, and when gregarious Laury suddenly became quiet, she began to have difficulty accessing hers.

The changes were subtle at first. She asked Pam to meet for coffee one day, but it was surprisingly difficult to engage her in conversation. To the question “What’s going on, am I boring you?” she answered prophetically, “No! I’m just in my head. ” Then she offered a reassuring hug – which wasn’t reassuring at all.

Everyone misread the cues: “We’re not as close as we used to be;” “She must be mad at me;” “Maybe she’s depressed.” As Laury’s friend Nelsie said, “I don’t think it ever occurred to us she couldn’t access language, that she was trapped in her brain and couldn’t access it.”

But Laury was an actress, and she was acting the hell out of her new part – a woman disappearing.

The film came about when Connie suggested making a film to capture her mysterious new life – and Laury jumped at the idea. It is the profoundly personal portrait of a woman who is facing the unthinkable. As she says straight to camera the first day of filming: “What do I hope for? I hope for – the truth!” Following Laury through her day to day life over the course of a year, conversations begin to resemble the famous Abbott and Costello comedy sketch “Who’s on First?” as Laury gives rapid-fire “Yes!” “No!” “No-Yes!” answers, and confusion reigns. Her husband Eric senses that not only does she grasp the absurdity of the situation, but “at some level she thinks its funny.”

We started filming during a hopeful period, with no idea of what lay ahead.

Laury was always a storyteller and she wanted to tell her last story herself. This is her story.

Book: A caregiver’s guide to dementia : using activities and other strategies to prevent, reduce and manage behavioral symptoms, Laura N. Gitlin, Catherine Verrier Piersol, 2014

a caregiver's guide “Mom has nothing to do—I’m concerned about her quality of life.”
“My husband gets agitated when I need to leave the house—I don’t know what to do.”
“My father keeps asking the same questions over and over.”

These are some of the common challenges encountered by individuals and families who are caring for a parent, spouse or close relative with dementia. This easy-to-use, practical guide is designed to help at-home caregivers navigate these daily challenges. Although there is no cure for dementia or its many behavioral symptoms, there are clear and proven strategies that can be used to enhance the quality of life for persons with dementia—strategies that can make a real difference for their families.
A Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia explores the use of activities and other techniques to prevent, reduce and manage the behavioral symptoms of dementia. Separate sections cover daily activities, effective communication, home safety and difficult behaviors, with explicit strategies to handle] agitation, repetitive questions, acting-out, wandering, restlessness, hoarding, resistance to care, incontinence, destructiveness, sexually and socially inappropriate acts at home and in public, aggressiveness, depression. Worksheets are provided to help caregivers customize the strategies that work best for them.
The strategies featured in this guide have been used by the authors in their research and reflect approaches and techniques that families have found to be most helpful.

Book: Dementia: pathways to hope : spiritual insights and practical advice, Louise Morse, 2015

dementia pathways to hope To be diagnosed with dementia is “like being blindfolded and let loose in a maze”. There is no clear treatment to follow, because each case is unique. But once thickets of misunderstanding and misinformation are brushed aside, there are pathways to hope.

“Secular models of support don’t adequately reflect Christian values of compassion, love and service,” explains Louise Morse. “Neither do they describe the power of spiritual support. This is key to the wellbeing of the caregiver, as well as the person with dementia.”

This book is packed with examples of what works, as well as practical advice and accessible medical information.

Louise Morse is a cognitive behavioural therapist and works with a national charity whose clients include people with dementia. Her MA dissertation, based on hundreds of interviews, examined the effects on families of caring for a loved one with dementia.

Fiction: Unbecoming, Jenny Downham, 2015

YouTube: Living with Dementia, Alzheimer’s Australia, 2016

This is also available as a DVD from our library.

Recent fiction with people with dementia

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Dementia Australia Library

2017 Update

As you may know, it can feel like it’s entirely possible to read about dementia all day, every day and still only cover a fraction of the resources available. At the Alzheimer’s Australia Vic library we’ve found that many people enjoy learning more about dementia in a fictional setting. Fortunately, there are some amazing stories which provide both a gripping read and valuable information on how dementia can impact and change both the person with dementia and those around them.

This post covers books released over the last two years – 2014 and 2015. Links to previous posts about fictional accounts of dementia are also included at the conclusion of this post. We hope that some of these resources are also available through your local library. If not, you can contact us or perhaps put in a request for these via your local library.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, 2015

“It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon…” This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate togetherness: an indefinable, enviable kind of specialness. But they are also like all families, in that the stories they tell themselves reveal only part of the picture. Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets. From Red’s father and mother, newly arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red’s grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, here are four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their achor.

Brimming with all the insight, humor, and generosity of spirit that are the hallmarks of Anne Tyler’s work, A Spool of Blue Thread tells a poignant yet unsentimental story in praise of family in all its emotional complexity. It is a novel to cherish.

We are not ourselves by Matthew Thomas, 2014

This novel is light on racy subplots and heavy on the messy, claustrophobic fog of family life. It is by turns wrenching in its portrait of a family battling illness and plodding in its depiction of the sociological realities of mid-century middle-class American life. At its centre is Eileen Tumulty, who grows up in a working-class Irish enclave of Queens, New York. When she meets her husband, Ed, a young neuroscientist, she believes she is finally climbing the ladder into the respectable upper-middle-class. But then in midlife, just as the couple’s son is entering his teens, Ed is diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Note: this is also available as an audiobook from our library.

The memory book by Rowan Coleman, 2014

The name of your first-born. The face of your lover. Your age. Your address…

What would happen if your memory of these began to fade?

Is it possible to rebuild your life? Raise a family? Fall in love again?

When time is running out, every moment is precious…

When Claire starts to write her Memory Book, she already knows that this scrapbook of mementoes will soon be all her daughters and husband have of her. But how can she hold onto the past when her future is slipping through her fingers…?

A Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Autumn Book Club pick, The Memory Book is a critically acclaimed, beautiful novel of mothers and daughters, and what we will do for love.

This is a story about younger onset dementia.

Note: this is also available as an audiobook from our library.

The Arsonist by Sue Miller, 2014

From the best-selling author of While I Was Gone and The Senator’s Wife, a superb new novel about a family and a community tested when an arsonist begins setting fire to the homes of the summer people in a small New England town.

Troubled by the feeling that she belongs nowhere after working in East Africa for 15 years, Frankie Rowley has come home-home to the small New Hampshire town of Pomeroy and the farmhouse where her family has always summered. On her first night back, a house up the road burns to the ground. Is it an accident, or arson? Over the weeks that follow, as Frankie comes to recognize her father’s slow failing and her mother’s desperation, another house burns, and then another, always the homes of summer people. These frightening events, and the deep social fault lines that open in the town as a result, are observed and reported on by Bud Jacobs, a former political journalist, who has bought the local paper and moved to Pomeroy in an attempt to find a kind of home himself. As this compelling book unfolds, as Bud and Frankie begin an unexpected, passionate affair, arson upends a trusting small community where people have never before bothered to lock their doors; and Frankie and Bud bring wholly different perspectives to the questions of who truly owns the land, who belongs in the town, and how, or even whether, newcomers can make a real home there.

Elizabeth Is Missing: A Novel by Emma Healey, 2014

In this darkly riveting debut novel—a sophisticated psychological mystery that is also an heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory, identity, and aging—an elderly woman descending into dementia embarks on a desperate quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared, and her search for the truth will go back decades and have shattering consequences.

Maud, an aging grandmother, is slowly losing her memory—and her grip on everyday life. Yet she refuses to forget her best friend Elizabeth, whom she is convinced is missing and in terrible danger.

But no one will listen to Maud—not her frustrated daughter, Helen, not her caretakers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth’s mercurial son, Peter. Armed with handwritten notes she leaves for herself and an overwhelming feeling that Elizabeth needs her help, Maud resolves to discover the truth and save her beloved friend.

This singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud’s rapidly dissolving present. But the clues she discovers seem only to lead her deeper into her past, to another unsolved disappearance: her sister, Sukey, who vanished shortly after World War II.

As vivid memories of a tragedy that occurred more fifty years ago come flooding back, Maud discovers new momentum in her search for her friend. Could the mystery of Sukey’s disappearance hold the key to finding Elizabeth?

Note: this is also available as an audiobook from our library.

Stars go blue : a novel by Laura Pritchett, 2014

We first met hardscrabble ranchers Renny and Ben Cross in Laura’s debut collection, and now in Stars Go Blue, they are estranged, elderly spouses living on opposite ends of their sprawling ranch, faced with the particular decline of a fading farm and Ben’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is just on the cusp of dementia, able to recognize he is sick but unable to do anything about it -the notes he leaves in his pockets and around the house to remind him of himself, his family, and his responsibilities are no longer as helpful as they used to be. Watching his estranged wife forced into care-taking and brought to her breaking point, Ben decides to leave his life with whatever dignity and grace remains.

As Ben makes his decision, a new horrible truth comes to light: Ray, the abusive husband of their late daughter is being released from prison early. This opens old wounds in Ben, his wife, his surviving daughter, and four grandchildren. Branded with a need for justice, Ben must act before his mind leaves him, and sets off during a brutal snowstorm to confront the man who murdered his daughter. Renny, realizing he is missing, sets off to either stop or witness her husband’s act of vengeance.

Missing Steps by Paul Cavanagh, 2015

Dean Lajeunesse doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps. He’s not yet fifty, but his memory is starting to fail him. He vividly recalls how dementia whittled away at his dad and doesn’t want his own teenaged son, Aidan, to see him suffer the same fate. Of course, he could just be overreacting. Maybe it’s the stress of his on-again, off-again relationship with Valerie, his long-time live-in girlfriend, or the feeling that he’s not measuring up as a father that’s making him absent-minded. But before he can understand what’s happening to him, he’s dragged home to the sickbed of his estranged mother. There, he butts heads with his older brother, Perry, who’s remained loyal to their mother and has succeeded in almost every way that Dean hasn’t. As old family tensions bubble to the surface, Dean must try to hold on to Aidan’s respect as he relives his difficult relationship with his own father.

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham, 2015

Three women – three secrets – one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can’t reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie’s grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and ‘capable of anything’, despite living with Alzheimer’s disease. As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her.

This is a book that will be enjoyed by young adults and adults alike.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord, 2014

For late primary or early secondary school-aged readers.

When Lucy’s family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her camera’s lens, as her father has taught her — he’s a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that he’s judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special — or only good enough. As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn’t want to see: his grandmother’s memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . . . including her own.

Grandma by Jessica Shepherd, 2014

Oscar loves Grandma, and their time together is always lots of fun. As she becomes less able to look after herself, she has to go into a care home. More and more children are encountering dementia and its effects on their families. This touching story, told in Oscar’s own words, is a positive and practical tale about the experience. The factual page about dementia helps children talk about their feelings and find new ways to enjoy the changing relationship. Jessica Shepherd’s sensitive first picture book has grown out of her experiences in a variety of caring roles. This book includes many wonderful illustrations, including a childlike map of a residential care facility.

Fictional accounts of dementia – Post 1

Fictional accounts of dementia – Post 2

Kids and teens resources

Still Alice

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Dementia Australia Library

still alice movie In January 2015 a film version of the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova was released. This film has received critical acclaim and to date, has won multiple awards.

If you’ve read Still Alice or seen the film you already know that it is a story of a psychology professor Alice Howland (played by Julianne Moore) who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The story describes her life from early warning signs, through diagnosis and then follows her progress through the onset of symptoms. It eloquently illustrates the impact of Alzheimer’s disease for Alice and for her family.

This post includes articles prompted by the release of the film Still Alice—reviews, commentaries and a podcast. It is not an exhaustive list, but rather a small sampler of the discussions initiated by Still Alice’s cinematic interpretation.

Remember, we have copies of the novel version of Still Alice in the Alzheimer’s Australia VIC library. Here’s a link to a review of the book on this blog – scroll down a bit, the review of Still Alice is lower on the page. You can contact us or come and visit us if you’d like to borrow a copy.

Once the film is released on DVD you will also be able to borrow a copy of the film from our library.

Article: Still Alice is ‘shockingly accurate’ – people living with dementia give their verdict, Tom Seymour, 11 February 2015, The Guardian

Julianne Moore is an Oscar favourite for her portrayal of a woman with dementia in Still Alice. But what do people with the condition think of the film?

Podcast: A review of the film Still Alice, panel discussion by Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation, Episode 25.

On January 29, Still Alice was released in Australian cinemas, a movie based on fictional character Alice Howland from her dementia diagnosis through to onset of symptoms. Throughout the movie Alice slowly but inevitably loses memory and connection with reality. She gradually loses the ability to follow a conversational thread, the story line of a book, or to recall information she heard just moments before. All common dementia symptoms. Many film critics are raving about Julianne Moore’s portrayal of Alice, and she has already won a Golden Globe award for best actress and is number 1 pick to win a prestigious Oscar. So what do others think of the movie, particularly those who are close to the cause and is the movie sending the right messages about ‘what is dementia?’ While the overall view of the movie is positive, some critics do say the film is overly “pristine” and “shies away from taking risks”, while also not being plausibly representative of the typical experience of dementia in choosing to focus on an “almost perfect … privileged family.” Others ask if it focuses enough on the latter stages, along with the impact placed on families and carers. In this special extended episode of the Dementia News I am pleased to have joining with me, three expert panellists, Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer (Griffith University), Dr Andrew Watt (Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health) and Jill Brown (Alzheimer’s Australia ACT), to give their views of the movie and discuss just how close to real life it is.

Article: ‘Hollywood’ movie sparks dementia conversation, DPS News

It is expected that a new Hollywood movie, starring a lineup of well known actors, will lead to greater awareness of the ‘enormous’ dementia challenge facing Australia, particularly those experiencing younger onset dementia.

Article: Still Alice, and the advocacy for Alzheimer’s in fiction, Matthew Wade, 29 January 2015, The Conversation

Still Alice – starring Julianne Moore – tells the story of Alice Howland, a linguistics professor diagnosed with a form of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Moore has already netted a Golden Globe and is clear favourite for a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar next month.

The novel on which the film is based is one of a clutch of debuts in recent years to explore forms of neurodegenerative disease. So what role does fiction play in our understanding, and acceptance, of dementia?…

Summer reading

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Dementia Australia Library

Reading about dementia is not, perhaps, what immediately springs to mind when considering your summer book list but there is an ever-growing body of work that interweaves accurate representations of dementia with very good story-telling. Here’s three for your consideration. If you would like to borrow any of these books, please contact us at the library or it may also be possible to source these from your local library.

All That’s Missing by Sarah Sullivan (2013)

This book has appeal for teenage and adult readers alike. A fantastic story, told with sensitivity and insight into the complicated situations families find themselves in and the unique solutions that can sometimes be found when circumstances demand it. All That’s Missing would be suitable for readers from the age of 12 years +.

Arlo’s grandfather travels in time. Not literally — he just mixes up the past with the present. Arlo holds on as best he can, fixing himself cornflakes for dinner and paying back the owner of the corner store for the sausages Poppo eats without remembering to pay. But how long before someone finds out that Arlo is taking care of the grandfather he lives with instead of the other way around? When Poppo lands in the hospital and a social worker comes to take charge, Arlo’s fear of foster care sends him alone across three hundred miles. Armed with a name and a town, Arlo finds his only other family member — the grandmother he doesn’t remember ever meeting. But just finding her isn’t enough to make them a family. Unfailingly honest and touched with a dash of magical realism, Sarah Sullivan’s evocative debut novel delves into a family mystery and unearths universal truths about home, trust, friendship, and strength — all the things a boy needs.

The Things Between Us – Living Words: Anthology 1 – Words and Poems of People Experiencing Dementia / Illustrated by Julia Miranda, Introduction by Lynda Bellingham, Compiled by Susanna Howard (2014)

‘This is an important collection of witnessings to an important subject, and valuable for what it addresses, as well as the way it addresses.’ Sir Andrew Motion

‘This is poetry from a place where we assume there are no more words to come, which makes it all the more powerful, moving and important. This book should be essential reading for every surgery care home and hospital and for all of us who are living with loved ones with dementia.’ Meera Syal OBE

‘I would so love to have had this book when my mother was struggling with Alzheimer’s.’ Lynda Bellingham OBE

Living Words has been working in the UK with people experiencing dementia since late 2007. This anthology contains a selection of their words and poems.

Under the rose bush / Jane Fry ; illustrator Sandi Harrold ( 2013)

Under the rose bush is a short story which explores a touching relationship between a young girl and her grandmother who develops Alzheimers disease.

Sarah and her Granny are great friends. They spend a lot of time playing and learning together, gradually Sarah notices changes in her Granny. Sarah learns to adjust to the situation as her grandmother ages. Her story provides a sense of optimism despite the grief of eventually losing her beloved grandmother.

The book helps children to understand the illness and teaches them how to cope with supporting their grandparents through a difficult time.

Films about dementia

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Dementia Australia Library

A growing collection of resources exists about dementia – extensive research articles, non-fiction, fiction, memoirs, poetry and film. Today’s post covers three films about dementia—or dementia-like symptoms—and the impact dementia has on the person with dementia, those caring for them and others in their life.

We have many more films available about dementia, so don’t hesitate to come in and see us if you’d like to find out more about our film collection. If you’re interested in any of these titles, you can request them here – remember, you have to be a member of Alzheimer’s Australia Vic.

Still mine, 2012

This is an intimate portrait of Frank, a man in his late eighties who finds himself caring for his wife of 61 years. Whilst no formal diagnosis is ever made, it is apparent that Irene has dementia and requires more support to continue to live at home. Facing the realities of their changing circumstances, Frank decides to build a dwelling more suitable than their long-term family home and is thrust into the contemporary world of permits, plans, building codes and the consequences of not complying with these restrictions.

Whilst taking on more tasks within the home, to compensate for Irene’s changing abilities, Frank also contends with the concerns of his seven children and their preference to have Irene, or possibly both Frank and Irene, getting professional care or support.

Still Mine is ultimately a story about a relationship between husband and wife and their staunch determination to remain together and care for one another. At times, this means other family members are excluded and disregarded. Yet no one doubts their devotion to one another. It is a story of empowerment and acceptance in very stressful circumstances. Whilst their situation bends them, it does not break them and Still Mine is, among other things, a story of triumph.

Firefly dreams, 2004

A Japanese sub-titled film about a troubled teenage girl who forges an unlikely friendship with an older person with dementia, becoming her carer and companion. This coming of age story focuses on 17 year old Naomi, sent to spend the summer holidays with her aunt in a small Japanese village whilst her parents navigate their separation and increasing inability to cope with Naomi’s behaviour. Initially, Naomi is stifled by the slower pace and physical demands of working with her aunt’s family in the hotel they run. She misses the city and is frustrated by her cousin, Yumi. Naomi goes to visit Mrs Koide, whom she knows from her childhood and at first is baffled by the inconsistencies in her elderly relative’s behaviour. As the summer passes, Naomi grows closer to Mrs Koide and her aunt’s family and whilst sometimes puzzled by Mrs Koide’s abrupt changes of topic, she tolerates and supports Mrs Koide’s needs.

Dementia is not overtly referred to in this film and the carer role that Naomi occupies is quite lightweight – focused on companionship rather than the day-to-day requirements of caring. The representation of dementia in this film focuses on some fairly mild forgetfulness, the person with dementia revisiting and re-enacting key past life experiences and some hospitalisation scenes.

In this film, the person with dementia dies and the implication is that her death was directly linked to dementia.

Finding Nemo, 2003

Although not immediately a dementia film, in Finding Nemo the character of Dory exhibits dementia-like symptoms which may help a younger child understand and experience dementia in a film.

This film, about a fish called Marlin looking for his lost son, Nemo, with the help of an often-forgetful and distracted fish called Dory. Dementia is not directly referred to in the film. Instead, Dory describes her condition as ‘short term memory loss that runs in the family’. As a result, the short term memory issues that can be experienced as part of dementia are front-and-centre, however the film also showcases Dory as a real person, not a caricature and someone who is able to contribute in her own right to her friend’s predicament. It shows some of the challenges of dementia, where some very routine procedural activities remain perfectly intact whilst other newer memories are tenuous and readily forgotten.

Finding Nemo also deals with Dory’s own anxiety, frustration and sometimes sadness with the limitations of her short term memory issues.

Overall, for younger children this could be a good film as a discussion piece to expand on a child’s experience of dementia and perhaps through Dory, their feelings about dementia.

Note: these reviews are the opinion of an individual, and do not represent the views of Alzheimer’s Australia, or Alzheimer’s Australia VIC.