The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts will host a number of events over the next several months designed to raise awareness about Alzeheimer’s disease and related dementias. Each event in the Dementia Awareness Series will offer local residents the opportunity to learn about dozens of dementia-related programs, services, products and resources – all in one location.
The Renaissance Centre is presenting the series in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association of Eastern North Carolina and Wake Forest SING as part of an effort to establish Wake Forest as a dementia-friendly community.
The Renaissance Centre will kick off the series by hosting a dinner and movie screening of the PBS documentary “Can Alzeheimer’s Be Stopped?” on Thursday, May 25, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. The occasion will begin with exciting news from medical experts concerning dementia research and care, followed by dinner and the special movie screening.
The program and dinner are free, but registration is required. Seating is limited to the first 200 people to pre-register at www.wakeforestnc.gov/dementia-awareness-education-series.aspx.
The Renaissance Centre will then host monthly seminars from July through September as part of the 2017 Wake Forest Dementia Awareness Education Series.
“The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease” on Thursday, July 20, will focus on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
“Effective Communications Strategies” on Thursday, Aug. 17, will offer tips on how to have honest and caring conversations with family members about deciding when to stop driving, going to the doctor and making legal and financial decisions.
“Understanding & Responding to Dementia-Related Behaviors” will round out the series on Thursday, Sept. 21. Behavior is one of the primary ways for people with dementia to communicate their needs and feelings as the ability to use language is lost. However, some behaviors can present challenges for caregivers to manage. Area residents are invited to attend this session and learn how to decode behaviors, identify common behavior triggers, and learn strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer’s disease.
Scheduled from 9:30 to 11 a.m., each workshop will feature a different speaker and include professional vendors that specialize in providing assistance to family members of people with dementia.
The sessions are free, but online pre-registration is required at www.wakeforestnc.gov/dementia-awareness-education-series.aspx.
For more information, contact Renaissance Centre Specialist Debra Horton at 919-435-9566 or dhorton@wakeforestnc.gov.
