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What is SOUND?

A pharmacological intervention for people with dementia and their carers

A non-pharmacological music-based intervention for people with dementia that trains professionals, family caregivers and the community at large

A method for healing people with dementia

Who is the Vademecum aimed at?

Only family members of people with dementia

Hospitals

To all services, companies, shops and organisations at any level

How can you contribute to building dementia-friendly communities?

Simply by displaying a sticker in my premises

One has to read the Vademecum, answer the questions, receive the "dementia friendly organisation" award, which certifies my interest and commitment, and display the sticker in one's premises

Answering all these questions

Are there many people living with dementia?

There are about ten million in Europe and a significant increase is expected in the coming years

There are only a few hundred

There are many Alzheimer patients but not so many with dementia

Why is a dementia-friendly environment important?

Because people with dementia are always in a hurry

Because people with dementia are good customers

Because they prioritise the well-being of the person with dementia, promote inclusion and reduce social isolation

What is dementia?

It is the loss of memory

It is a specific disease involving only the decline of mental abilities

It is a syndrome, i.e. a set of symptoms involving the deterioration of mental abilities (memory, orientation, etc.), caused by various pathologies

How many forms of dementia exist?

Dementia is dementia

There are over 100 types of dementia, depending on the underlying pathology, the most common being Alzheimer's disease

There are only 2 forms of dementia: Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia

What are the most common symptoms of dementia?

Getting lost

Forgetting the name of loved ones

Difficulties with orientation, short-term memory, reasoning, language, personality changes, mood swings and difficulties with activities of daily living

Who is best to contact to assess whether you have dementia?

The psychiatrist

Your family doctor who provides the referral to the nearest Centre for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia (CDCD)

The Centre for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia

What are the most common cognitive, i.e. thinking, difficulties?

Memory loss, lack of orientation in time and space, impaired judgement, communication difficulties

Being hyper-attentive

Confusing day with night

What are the most common emotional and behavioural difficulties?

Confusion

Being too cheerful

Mood swings, changing personality, agitation, aggression, hallucinations and delusions

How does dementia manifest itself in daily functioning?

With disorientation also in sleep-wake rhythm, difficulty in taking care of oneself and reduction of movement abilities

The person sleeps a lot

The person remains autonomous

What are the most common interpersonal difficulties?

The desire to meet friends less frequently

The tendency to social isolation and to develop relational tensions even with the people closest to them

Embarrassment

Are there safety aspects of living with dementia?

No, people with dementia protect themselves

Yes, there are several, the main ones being wandering and medication management

Yes, but they are not so relevant

What is the stigma of living with dementia?

Stigma is related to the lack of information and public awareness about living with dementia, so it can affect the lives of people with dementia and their families

Although subject to stigma, the person does not care and lives well anyway

Stigma is a social plague, but it does not affect people with dementia

What difficulties are encountered in caring for a person with dementia?

Some difficulties are related to sleep

Caring for someone with dementia does not involve many difficulties

There may be difficulties related to emotional stress, balancing care responsibilities and tensions in managing care costs

What principles underlie a dementia-friendly environment?

Social inclusion, compassion, empathy and community harmony

The possibility of making new friends

Civilised coexistence

Are there advantages to becoming a dementia-friendly environment?

There are only a couple of advantages

There are many benefits, including increasing customer loyalty, positively impacting employees, improving the well-being of both employees and customers, reducing the stress of family carers, contributing to the empowerment of people with dementia and others

Benefits are only for people with dementia

In general, what does becoming a dementia-friendly environment entail?

Nothing in particular, just sticking the sticker on

It requires changes to the environment (e.g. furniture) that are disruptive

Adopting practices and making changes to the environment so that it becomes inclusive for people with dementia and their families

How do you train staff for a dementia-friendly company?

Leaflets are given to read at home

Everyone is responsible for finding courses and doing them: I don't have to do anything

Dementia awareness training events can be organised for all staff, also dementia knowledge can be included in customer service training

Which communication strategies can be taught?

Clear communication and a patient and empathetic attitude are useful, referring to the guidelines on language promoted by the Alzheimer association

It is better not to communicate with people with dementia because they cannot understand you

Gesture communication is the best approach with people with dementia

What can be done to the physical environment?

It needs to be modernised

To create an accessible facility, it would suffice to ensure clear signposting, create a quiet area with seating, pay attention to brightness and the type of floor, use relaxed background music

You can make it rich with stimuli, lights and loud music

Are there rules and procedures to be changed?

It is good to have a flexible and open mind in order to adopt procedures and behaviours adaptable to the times and needs of people with dementia and to support staff in their implementation

Company policies cannot be touched

Only certain rules and procedures need to be changed

What adjustments can be made?

Children's products can also be used for people with dementia

It doesn't matter, there are family caregivers anyway

Products or services could be created for people living with dementia, such as using simple written language and larger fonts, with drawings, etc.

How can one get involved?

By carefully studying the SOUND booklet I received

One can organise events or promotions that take into account people with dementia and their relatives; one can also collaborate with associations in the field

By putting the 'dementia-friendly environment' sticker on social media for World Alzheimer's Day

Can technology help?

Certainly, it is a medium that can be explored to improve the customer experience, including those living with dementia

Yes, everything is now technological

No, those living with dementia do not use technology

How can feedback mechanisms be useful?

Customer evaluations are only outbursts of anger

Gathering reviews and opinions from customers, including those with dementia and family members, helps to improve one's service offering

To understand that you cannot satisfy all customers

How do you promote inclusiveness?

Through the use of marketing language and image that respect the guidelines for communicating with people with dementia, as well as the use of the sticker provided by the SOUND Vademecum

Simply using the sticker provided by the SOUND consortium

It is unnecessary to include people with dementia who are no longer self-sufficient

Which collaborations can be initiated?

None, because starting collaborations is a waste of time

One can collaborate with local organisations or groups (community partnerships), engage in educational initiatives and continue training, e.g. to obtain "dementia-friendly" recognition

Collaborations with music centres are the most effective

What effects does music have on the person with dementia?

It entertains them

There are no particular effects since dementia is progressive

Music activates the emotional capacities of human beings, which remain intact in people with dementia, and through these other residual mental capacities can be stimulated, maintaining them for longer and at the same time improving well-being

Can environments such as theaters, cinemas and museums be made more inclusive for people with dementia?

People with dementia cannot attend theaters, cinemas and museums

Definitely. With steps to follow, all environments can be made dementia-friendly, including museums, cinemas, theatres and auditoriums

These places can only be frequented by people with dementia and their relatives when they are closed to the public so no one disturbs them

The Vademecum illustrates case studies on what?

About typical situations, including various scenarios, that may occur in the city environment

About the confusion of the person with dementia at home

About people with dementia listening to music

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