The shame of the sad events at the Mosque’s in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, underpin how society is becoming more divisive.
In the 21st Century, people have become media victims, where their looks, thoughts and actions are being controlled and manipulated by a media, hell bent on selling copies and profits to the detriment of all.
They present a perfect human being, through looks, employment, hobbies, relationships etc that leaves no room for all the differences that make us all human.
They preach intolerance of how we look and act which spreads into other aspects of society such as race, religion and disability, leading to the hate of that which is different to their perceptions.
Nostradamus predicted that a Third World War would come from the east and with the continued inequalities and intolerance in society it is not hard to imagine a time when those discriminated upon, turn against the haters.
Many civilisations such as the Romans, became preoccupied with looks and money to the detriment of those who didn’t meet society’s norms and those less able and look what happened to them.
Friday’s article The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Part 2 was an attempt to redress the balance of the stigma of some professionals and care partners, that question the diagnosis of Dementia at a younger/earlier stage.
These experiences of those professionals and care partners are undoubtedly negative, who mainly experience the negative side of Dementia through the emotions and emotional responses of the person they care for in the Palliative stage.
But there are three main stages to Dementia, early, middle and Palliative, like Cancer which has 4. You do not hear comments that someone with stage 1 to 3 Cancer, doesn’t have cancer because they don’t look like they have Cancer, they still work, drive, speak at events, campaign etc.
As with any chronic terminal disease, the challenges of each stage, differ and increase through the stages.
It has never been the intention of people living with Dementia to say that the perceptions and experiences of professionals and care partners of the Palliative stage are wrong.
However, because all you see in the media is the Palliative stage of Dementia, as I know from my own experience, that narrative has a disabling effect upon diagnosis and there is a need to redress the balance to show that a diagnosis need not necessarily be
The beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning with an earlier diagnosis.
That there may be a life to live within the reducing limits of a diagnosis, when diagnosed at an earlier stage.
That we do however recognise and even fear the challenges of the Palliative stage of Dementia.
Nominations for the National Diversity Awards 2019
Other Nominations
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Petitions
Petition – Pay Carers an allowance equivalent to a fulltime job at the National Living wage
Petition – No more PIP Assessments for People with Life Long Disability or Conditions
New Justice for Jodey Whiting. Independent inquiry into deaths linked to the DWP
Consultations
Consultation – Learning disability and autism training for health and care staff
New Australian Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
Videos
Stephen Tamblin’s 44th Weekly Video
Poetry
Blog
“I first met James McKillop back in 2001, not long before the publication of his book, ‘Opening Shutters, Opening Minds’. We shared a love of photography and had a similar sense of humour. It was James who introduced me to the Scottish Dementia Working Group (or Working Party as it was called then).”
Alzheimer’s Society Scotland’s blog titled Journeying through Dementia Designing Post Diagnostic Support with People with Dementia
New Resources
When The Fog Lifts 