The next step made easier

Michael Patsias, Garry Lovell and Ed Cowland all have something in common – their minds are in a world far from here.

All three men, who are living with dementia, feature in a new film titled Dementia: Taking the Next Step, developed by Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria and launched last Thursday (26 April 2012).

The film offers advice on what to do if you receive a dementia diagnosis, focusing on advice from carers, as well as those who actually live with the neurological disease.

Victorian Minister for Health and Ageing, David Davis, at the launch, met with 76-year-old Michael, who has had dementia for 16 years; 49-year-old Garry, who was diagnosed with younger onset dementia two years ago and 77-year-old Ed who also lives with dementia. They all explained to Mr Davis why his government needs to support dementia in the emerging state budget.

The brainchild of the project is Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria’s Carol Liavis, who cares for her father, and ultimately saw the need for the film to be developed to help those feeling confronted by the diagnosis of dementia by sharing the stories of three families who have been through this experience.

“I felt with my experience, and the experiences of others, we could really help people when they first receive a diagnosis,” she explains.

Describing it as an “overwhelming time”, Ms Liavis says “knowing where to start” when asking for help is the most important thing she learnt of her own journey with her father.

The film, which is free of charge on DVD, features medical comments from dementia specialist Professor Michael Woodward.

“A lot of people are quite unsure of what they need to do once a diagnosis has been made, and who they can talk about it to.

“What we are trying to achieve with the film is to remind our communities there is help out there and they don’t have to deal with their diagnosis, or that of their loved ones, by themselves,” Professor Woodward says.

Copies of the DVD will be made available to Cognitive Dementia and Memory Services in Victoria, as well as other Victorian health organisations assisting people with early stages of a diagnosis.

For more information or to order copies, contact Diana Fayle on (03) 9816 5792 or dfayle@alzvic.asn.au.