Together Dementia Support

enabling people to live positively with dementia in Manchester

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Manchester Carers Network Events in Early August

The Manchester Carers Network will be running three online events for Carers via Zoom on the 4th, 5th and 15th August.

They will be delivered virtually via Zoom and Carers must have access to internet, tablet, laptop, computer and camera. MCN can provide support to carers in accessing Zoom via a video tutorial.

Please see the workshops listed below with links to Eventbrite, which will provide full details and summary, and enable Carers to sign up and attend.

If you require any more information, please do not hesitate to the Manchester Carers Network on:

Tel – 0161 834 6069

Email – learning@manchestercarersnetwork.org.uk

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Amazon Echo Show loaned to a man with dementia and his wife

“Dear All

We cannot thank you enough for introducing us to this kit

After 2 weeks we still get surprises every day on all things that it can do.

Initially, we realised that what we had was a really “posh” radio.

No messing around, tuning in. ” Voice command” and a perfectly tuned station !

Classic FM is a favourite of Malcolm’s. Now, if he isn’t keen on the music they are playing, he can request a violin concerto or some Andre Rieu. At present we do not pay for Amazon Music so we cannot be too specific with the choices, but there is plenty to go on.

Commands we have used:

“Play 1940s music (50 60 70s)”

“Play jazz/ folk /blues /opera”

“Play Tommy Steele…. Cliff Richards…. Elton John”

Like a karaoke machine, it also gives you the words to songs. I now know that I have been getting the words wrong for some songs for years !

Alexa will read a book and always remember where you are up to or just tell me a stor.y I love audio books and so I need to explore this more.

Malcolm likes to ask for today’s news for which he gets to choose Mail or Telegraph etc.

He also likes to ask questions “What is the speed of light?” His kids got tired of that particular question but Alexa is very patient.

Alexa seems to like to do maths /sing songs/ share knowledge and tell jokes

For example, ‘If you are scared of lifts, take steps to avoid them’

Yesterday Malcolm asked her

“Can you read my mind ?”

She replied, “Think of a person and I will try to guess who you are thinking about”. After a few questions she guessed.

I think she is a companion for an elderly person, with or without dementia.

You can ask, “What is the weather like ?Do I need a jumper?”

The rock and roll music has actually got us doing dance exercise for about 20 minutes a day.

We can ask her to time us and, yes, she also times the eggs in the morning – 4 minutes!

The real reason I think that you loaned us the echo was for phone calls. This we really need more work on. The first time I tried to ‘drop in’ on Malcolm he had unplugged the device when I went out !

Now he is now more confident with voice control so I will try again.

Lucy called us and that worked well but we need to work on the family more. So less bopping and more family contact over the next few weeks….

I hope our learning experience will help other users to get the most out of the loan

Thanks to you all and especially Karl for setting it up.

Diana and Malcolm”

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What we can offer you until our groups restart!

People Living with Dementia:

  • Phone/Video calls 
    • Our Dementia Group Leaders and volunteers are offering one-to-one support to our members by calling them once a week for a chat and to do quizzes or word games
    • We can also offer members an Amazon Echo device which allow us to video call members! It is so important that people living with dementia do not become isolated as they stay protected from the virus. 
  • Big Sing 
    • Sound Up Arts, in partnership with Together Dementia Support, have been creating some fun, engaging music sessions for our members to watch and interact with. Lucy, who some of you will know, leads these sessions. We think you’ll enjoy her smiling face and lovely singing. 
    • We have been sharing a private YouTube link with our members, which will let you access the music sessions online. All you need is access to a computer, tablet or smartphone! If you don’t have access to the internet, we can give you a DVD. You can re-watch the link as many times as you like. Alongside each video is a CreativePack- a collection of related activities, lyrics-sheets, songs and games that you can do during the week.
  • Ageless Grace 
    • Ageless Grace® Brain Health Fitness, is great for people living with Dementia to support cognition, mental health and physical fitness. The programme consists of ‘21 tools’ – these are fun physical activities that encourage the brain to work out how to do movements by using the body in a different way or for the brain to try to keep up with changes. Both the person with dementia and the carer (in fact, anyone!) can benefit from these seated exercise sessions.  The music lifts your mood whilst your brain and body benefit! We are currently releasing new live videos weekly via Facebook, however you do not need a Facebook account to see our posts.
  • Delivering Regular Activity Packs, Games, Magazines, and Books
    • We are compiling themed activity packs including quizzes, word searches and colouring. Previous themes include Manchester (featuring Lowry paintings to complete andVimtoand Eccles cakes to eat!) VE Day (featuring a newsletter with the history, members’ war-time stories, word-search, colouring,  home-made bunting and a boxed cream-tea), and Easter (including an Easter card to decorate, themed puzzles and sweet Easter treats). We either post these packs out to you or your relative or we may deliver them to you, having a conversation with you and your relative at the door. We can also bring gardening things, arts, crafts, books, puzzles or a game for you to play.
  • Knitting Group
    • A number of our members used to knit so volunteer, Gay, is leading a knitting project. We have needles and chunky wool to give out and Gay and Jo will keep in touch with members who are having a go at knitting squares. Eventually, these will be sewn up and blankets made – amidst much celebration! 
  • Fabulous Forgetful Friends 
    • This group catch up regularly over Zoom meetings, talking about their health and wellbeing and planning ways of making a difference through teaching others about dementia or campaigning for better services! The group also like to have fun together (and have had trips out and social gatherings in the past.) During lockdown they have produced a video of advice for newly-diagnosed people and are planning to have a virtual ‘Mad Hatters Tea Party’ – making a short film as they perform and tell the story.
  • Weekly Social Zoom Meeting
    • We’re running fun social meetings for members and carers to join together each Friday afternoon. This includes singing and simple quizzes, and a little bit of chatting to catch up with how everyone is doing.

COMING SOON: 

  • Distanced walks around the block
    • We will be able to match volunteers to visit people and go for a  walk around the local area – whilst maintaining a safe social distance. This would require someone to be independently mobile and with minimal falls risk.
  • Activities in the garden (eventually in homes)
    • We are training volunteers ready to be able to conduct social visits in outside spaces and eventually in peoples’ homes following (once this is allowed and safe to do so). These visits would require a carer to be on hand during the visit, but enable members to have a weekly face-to-face chat, play games, or even have a go at some seated exercise. We would assess members for suitability for this new service on an individual basis.

Carers of People Living with Dementia:

  • Phone/Video Calls
    • It is just as important to make sure the carers of those living with dementia do not feel isolated, overwhelmed or unsupported. This is why we routinely give our carers a call, to see how they are doing and how we can continue to best support them and the person they care for! A good relationship with our carers is key in what makes Together Dementia Support such a special charity. Carers are likely to have additional problems during this time and so we can help you to get help, making referrals or finding the right equipment or information for you.
  • Weekly Carers’ Zoom Meeting
    • Together Dementia Support is hosting regular Zoom video meetings for Carers. The aim is to give carers some time out to chat with each other, get information and support and to learn a bit each time about an aspect of dementia or carers support.

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We need your help

With the Governments introduction of strict social distancing and self-isolating at home on Monday 23rd March, we have had to make the decision to cancel all our groups for the foreseeable future. This was a difficult decision as we know how hard many of our members will find self-isolating, particularly because we began these groups to combat loneliness for people living with dementia.

Although the groups are not running at the moment, here at TDS we have been working hard (from our respective homes!) to find ways to still support our members long distance!

We have been creating activity packs to send out to our members. These packs have included printing and posting crosswords, puzzles and quizzes, as well as items such as seeds, sandwich-bags of compost and pots; watercolour paints; jigsaws; and craft activities including knitting, felt-work and items for making rag-rugs.

We are also making many more phone calls to maintain relationships with those members who said they would like a regular call. And also supporting family carers with phone calls as they also struggle during this time without any breaks or requiring advice on how to set up further support while they themselves have to self-isolate. Volunteers who are keeping in touch with members have been advised to keep a record and should claim back the expense of phoning our members.

With the cancellation of the groups, the subs we normally gain from these groups have stopped. With no other fundraising happening at this time, if you would like to support the work we are doing to create the activity packs and regular social phone calls (which help combat loneliness for many of our members during these times), please consider supporting us by donating though our PayPal account:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=-DtDkLpXe8Pe-VSfIMGaj4wWTU6T-jWj6U6JIqPbdBufcXcsH0GxVas7s2MzQkDJQB-FYW&country.x=GB&locale.x=

A few pounds will go very far in creating an activity pack!

Thank you in advance for any support you are able to provide, 

The TDS Team.

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Let’s Sing Together!

Just because we are stuck inside doesn’t mean we can’t still sing together! Our Dementia Group Leader, Dorothy, has made a ‘Together in Song’ gospel choir video-log (or ‘vlog’). You can watch and join in the singing here:

Dorothy leads us in a Gospel Choir Sing-a-long!

Another one of our Dementia Group Leaders, Lucy, has  posted a taster of the series of themed vlogs as part of her Community Interest Company, SoundUp Arts. She is using these to give work to musicians who have lost gigs and work due to the lockdown. We will be sharing these each week with Carers.  Lucy is also hoping that care homes will buy in this resource which they can share with their residents. Have a listen via the link below and share with anyone you think might be interested!