Start by educating yourself on dementia so you can anticipate possible challenges and understand the experience of the person you caring for.
Finding the right information, and having resources to refer to, can be empowering for carers and family.
Dementia Australia has a range of resources, specifically designed for carers, available here. You may want to share some of these documents with family and friends, so the people around you also gain an understanding of dementia and what might be helpful.
You may even want to:
- Get involved in Dementia Australia research and contribute to a growing body of evidence to support people living with dementia, their carers and communities.
- Become a Dementia Advocate to help raise awareness of dementia, to tackle stigma and discrimination, and to influence decision-makers across government and the aged care and disability sectors.
- Register to become a Dementia Friend to better understand dementia and the challenges faced by people living with dementia, what a dementia-friendly community means to people living with dementia, and how to support people to stay connected.
Finding help in your language often can be difficult. Dementia Australia has a range of Help Sheets in more than 35 languages available here. You can also speak to someone at the National Dementia Helpline with an interpreter by contacting the Telephone Interpreting Service on 131 450.