‘Staying on the move’ with dementia

The NRMA and Alzheimer’s Australia NSW yesterday launched a new free guide, Staying on the Move with Dementia, to help people with dementia to understand the impact the condition has on driving and help prepare them for life without a driver’s licence.

The guide also provides advice to the families of people with dementia so that they are better able to provide a support role.

Dementia is one of the conditions that drivers are required by law to report to the Roads & Maritime Services. While having dementia doesn’t automatically mean a person can no longer drive, it will require them to get a medical assessment and possibly undertake a practical driving test.

Staying on the Move with Dementia provides a raft of helpful measures around driving with dementia and alternatives for people when they can no longer drive.

These measures include:

• How to identify early warning signs that dementia may be affecting someone’s driving
• Advice on how to help the person deal with the condition and how to prepare them for the time when they can no longer drive
• How to access alternative transport options when a person can no longer drive

Kyle Loades, NRMA president, says with about one in 10 people over 65 years and three in 10 over 85 years living with dementia the nation needed to do more to prepare itself for the impact dementia would have on drivers and their families.

“More and more Australians are diagnosed with dementia every day and some are as young as 30,” Mr Loades says. “It’s critical that these people and their loved ones have all the information they need to make the right decisions around independent mobility and safety.”

“As a nation we need to do more to help people prepare for the impact dementia will have on their mobility and invest in more alternative transport options so that a person’s quality of life isn’t impacted when they can no longer drive.

The Hon. John Watkins, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW chief executive, says the issue of driving once there has been a diagnosis of dementia is a highly complex one and is often one that is fraught and emotional for everyone involved.

“Our members time and again tell us that this can be such a difficult and highly emotional issue,” Mr Watkins says.

“We need to ensure the person with dementia is supported to remain independent and to keep driving for as long as it is safe to do so. And then we must make sure there is appropriate support and information available to the person and their family and carers to make what can be a really difficult transition from driver to non driver as smooth as possible.”

Staying on the Move with Dementia will initially be available at NRMA branches and Medicare Local offices.

The free guide is available on the NRMA community hub www.livingwellnavigator.com.au.