Dementia Awareness Level 2 Course

On Friday the 21st of April I went to Mayflower Court in Southampton to do my care home training in Dementia. The day lasted from 10-4:30pm and I thoroughly enjoyed it (I even sneaked a look at Southampton Uni afterwards). I was the only volunteer there, but was accompanied by other
Anchor carer employees. We learnt about the symptoms (memory, communication, recognition), different variations, as there are over 120 types of dementia (Alzheimer's, Vascular, Frontal temporal Lobe..etc), the causes of Dementia (e.g. strokes), the sections of the brain, the effects, and person centered care. A few of the facts I liked learning most were..

• 10% of all diagnosed dementias are mixed.
• A doctor cannot be certain of the diagnosis until post-mortem examination of the brain.
• Writing is the hardest thing your brain ever learns to do.
• The 3 impairments: Agnosia - Sensory information inability. Aphasia - Speech inability. Appraxia - Task Performance inability.

It made me realise that I knew residents with each impairment, and learnt how to be there for them in 'Person Centered Care' (under the Care Act 2014 Regulation 9) as well as gaining an insight into how it feels to suffer with dementia when we got to experience impairment glasses, arthritis gloves...etc in the practical session of the course.

The course was the perfect balance of having fun and being educated on a serious issue, over all I found it extremely interesting and will value and act on the new things I have learnt.