Dad's diagnosis of dementia

Your Aged Care Compass

Today we chat about our own father’s diagnosis of dementia and how it came about.

Coral was aware that things were changing with Dad and something wasn’t quite right. She started the process of getting a geriatrician involved. Dad moved through diagnoses of depression to mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

Coral was pushed into explaining the diagnosis to Mum and Dad because the geriatrician decided not to tell them. This meant Coral had to take on the clinical role and tell Mum and Dad what was happening and what to expect. It changed how Mum reacted and put undue pressure on Coral.

In this episode:

• Depression or dementia?
• A diagnosis of dementia takes time
• What is mild cognitive impairment (MCI)?
• The geriatrician didn’t tell Mum and Dad about Dad’s dementia diagnosis
• Coral had to explain Dad’s diagnosis to Mum and Dad
• Why the geriatrician didn’t tell Mum and Dad the diagnosis
• Mum’s reaction to the situation and her struggle to understand why she wasn’t told
• Dad’s response to medication
• How this experience changed Coral’s approach to her work
• Coral believes that the older person and their family need to know so they can educate themselves and be prepared for what’s ahead

Resources mentioned:

• Let's Talk Consultation
• Dementia Australia - Understanding dementia
• University of Tasmania – Understanding dementia online course

Connect with Coral Wilkinson:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Guiding you through My Aged Care | SeeMeACN website

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast:

Are you supporting an older loved one at home and ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is aimed at anyone who is caring for an older loved one who still lives at home and is wondering what support is available to them.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is now client care manager for our business.

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. We reached a point however, of needing extra support and we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well, we knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

This podcast, Your Aged Care Compass, brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our own ageing parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home.

We will help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system, from your first contact with My Aged Care through to the different funding streams and assessment workforces, management options for home care packages and extra funding that people might be eligible for.

There's so much more. Topics relating to dementia and legal and financial considerations will be covered, as well as real life stories of where it went wrong for people and how we guided them to get it right.

Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones.

Like what you hear? Please leave us a Rating and Review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.