Helping
parents to help their children: new resources about dementia
The
Alzheimer’s Society has produced a groundbreaking education
pack for parents, to help them talk to and inform children and
young people about dementia.
The
Society is also running a drawing competition to encourage children
and young people to think more about dementia and memory. The
first prize is a family holiday to Disneyland Resort Paris.
The
competition is featured on the leaflet ‘What is dementia?’,
which includes easy to understand information about dementia written
especially for children and young people.
The
Society’s education pack also includes an information sheet
on explaining dementia to children, ‘Understanding dementia’
a detailed factsheet for children and young people and a six-minute
film – entitled ‘About my grandfather…about
my grandmother’ – which features children of all ages
speaking about their experiences of having a grandparent with
dementia.
Neil
Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, says:
‘Alzheimer’s
disease and the other types of dementia are common, especially
in older people. There are 750,000 people in the UK who have dementia,
and millions of people care for a person with dementia.
‘When
someone in the family develops dementia everyone is affected.
Children and young people need support in understanding what is
happening to a relative who no longer remembers their name, or
who starts to act differently.
‘We
hope that these resources will help children and young people
understand more about Alzheimer’s disease and all other
forms of dementia. We want to help children and young people cope
when a relative has dementia – to explain, to support them
and to alleviate their fears.’
The
film will be launched to coincide with Alzheimer’s Awareness
Week® which will take place in England and Wales from 4 –
10 July.
‘The
key message of the week is that we all need to understand what
dementia is. Only then can we promote greater understanding and
help everyone, whatever their age, deal with the impact of dementia,’
says Neil Hunt.
Quotes
from the film ‘About my grandfather…about my grandmother’:
‘When my grandfather forgot my name I felt like he didn’t
actually love me anymore, which is why he was forgetting me. But
then I found out it was because of dementia.’
‘When
I heard granny had Alzheimer’s I didn’t really know
what it was and then my mum explained it to me, saying that it’s
like when part of your brain starts to malfunction and you start
to forget things.’
‘My
grandfather talks about things from the past, when he was a young
kid and the games he used to play, but if we ask him what happened
yesterday he will not remember.’
‘My
granny sometimes asked me when her sister was coming over to see
her, and she’d forgotten her sister had actually died. So
we had to explain it to her that she’d died and my granny
would get really upset and tell us that she didn’t know
and we hadn’t told her.’
Contact
your local branch of the Alzheimer's Society to find out how to
view the video or to find out more about Alzheimer's Awareness
Week. The information sheets and competition leaflet can also
be downloaded from www.alzheimers.org.uk or contact press@alzheimers.org.uk
or 020 7306 0807.
Children's
charity invited to attend The Virtual Global Task Force on Internet
abuse
Barnardo's,
the UK's leading children's charity has been invited to join representatives
from England, America, Australia and Canada at a summit aimed
at targeting those who search for images of child abuse on the
Internet.
The
International group of law enforcement agencies have met once
before in December with a view to collaboration on policing and
abuse via the internet. Barnardo's has been asked to contribute
to the discussions due the charity's work with children sexually
abused through the internet.
Tink
Palmer, Barnardo's Policy Officer said, The fact that Barnardo's
has been asked to contribute to the summit is very positive and
means that law enforcement agencies are considering the plight
of the child victims. However, it is clear much more needs to
be done to trace the children who are the subject of abusive images
on the internet and then offer them specialist therapeutic support.
The
only way in which this can be done is through a multi-agency approach
and a full review of the current policing practice and the establishment
of child protection as a police priority. The summit is a step
in the right direction.'
Barnardo's would like to see the creation of a UK-wide multidisciplinary
centre focusing on the needs of the children who have been abused
via the internet and new technologies. The centre would offer
a variety of services ranging from specialist therapeutic services
for the child victims, to giving advice to the public on using
the internet safely and advising the police and trained professionals
dealing with children abused in this way. Establishing a national
centre would help set child protection as a policing priority
across the UK as well as enabling international co-operation between
all those involved in child protection.
Voicing
their Opinions at Shout Out 4Children Week 28 June – 2 July
2004
4Children
is organizing Shout Out 4Children Week, during Sure Start Month,
and is placing children and young people centre stage. Thousands
of children’s projects will be celebrating the week by encouraging
children to communicate effectively and drive adults to better
understand children’s communication - allowing children's
voices to be heard and focusing on the key issues affecting all
children today. Shout Out 4Children Week takes place from 28 June
- 2 July.
Highlights
for the week include:
29th
June Stephen Byers MP to address a national seminar dedicated
to Children’s Centres – the Integrated Provision within
Communities seminar is an opportunity to explore the policy agenda
surrounding Children’s Centres examining children’s
needs, funding and examples of best practice.
29th
June 4Children will be launching the results of its Buzz Survey
- a major survey of 4 to 14 year olds to find out how children
communicate with each other and their families – is it by
mobile phone, email or just a chat at meal times?
30th
June An annual summer reception held at the Atrium in London.
Following
on from the launch of the radical manifesto for change –
Creating opportunities, Building Futures – the reception
will focus on the development of the strategy through Extended
Schools, reflecting on the major developments for children and
families over the last year and looking to the future as we approach
a general election.
1st
July The Childcare Stars 2004 – In its eighth year, the
Childcare Stars Awards are a star-studded gala dinner to reward
and recognise the fantastic people who look after children many
of whom work in difficult circumstances and yet bring inspiration
and friendship into children’s lives. Sponsored by Sure
Start.
Shout
Out 4Children Week is an important highlight in the childcare
calendar and is a special time for childcare schemes everywhere
– the spotlight is firmly on them. Regional activities will
run throughout the week in thousands of childcare schemes across
the country including sports schemes, music programmes, arts and
crafts and fundraising events.
The
week is hosted by 4Children, the national charity dedicated to
creating opportunities and building futures for all children,
and forms part of June’s National Sure Start Month - which
gives parents the opportunity to find out more about the early
education and childcare services available to them.
Anne
Longfield, Chief Executive of 4Children said: “Long gone
is the time when children were seen and not heard – today’s
society demands that we positively encourage children to voice
their opinions on all issues affecting them whether it be boredom,
bullying, school or somewhere to play. Adults must listen more
to their children and Shout Out 4Children Week is an opportunity
to highlight the need to further bring children into decision-making
processes. Children’s voices should be heard loud and clear
– consulting with children needs to be much more open, thought
through and sought after.”
