Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) : All India Chapters List

New Delhi:
Mrs. Nirmala Narula,
President ARDSI Delhi Chapter,
163 Kailash Hills
(Ground Floor Back Portion)
New Delhi - 110065   
Tele. 26922940 /64533663 / 642-3300, 644-7888
Email: ardsi_dc@hotmail.com
Website: http://alzheimersdelhi.org/index.htm


Calicut:
Sqn. Ldr. K.A.R Nair(Rtd)
Secretary, ARDSI Calicut Chapter,
32/2405, Radhas, P.O. Kottamparamba,
Calicut - 673008, Kerala.
Phone: 0091-495-2355388
Email: radhamaninair@eth.net

Kochi:
Dr. Mathew Abraham,
Consultant Neurologist,President,
ARDSI Kochi Chapter,Neurological Clinic961/1,
Makkar LaneThevara College Road
Perumanoor, Cochin – 682 015
Tel: 0484 – 2319739/314649


Pathanamthitta:
Mr. John Thomas C,
Secretary, ARDSI Pathanamthitta Chapter,
Mount Pleasant, Kozhenchery East P.O,
Dist. Pathanamthitta - 689 645.
Tel. 312734.
Email: joalzeh@yahoo.com

Hyderabad:
Ms.Ruksana Ansari
ARDSI, Hyderabad-Deccan Chapter
Room no. 3, Memory Clinic,
Millenium Block, Ground Floor,
NIMS, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad – 500 082 (A.P), INDIA
Ph: +91-40-6610-3413
Email:  ardsihyd@gmail.com  
Website: http://www.ardsihyd.org/

Chennai
Dr. R. Sathianathan,
Secretary, ARDSI Chennai Chapter, D-89, 3rd Street,
Anna Nagar (E), Chennai - 600 102. Clinic:044-26443134.
Tel. (Res) 044-26263104
Fax: 044-2538 0153.
Email: sathianathen6@yahoo.com

Thiruvananthapuram:
Mrs. Meera Pattabi,
Secretary, ARDSI TVM Chapter, 25/2991,
Malloor Road, Vanchiyoor, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 035.
Tel. 0471-2462573.
Email: anrala@md3.vsnl.net.in , anrala@vsnl.com


Bangalore:
Mr. S Premkumar Raja
Secretary, ARDSI B'lore Chapter, 337, 2nd Cross, 1st Block, R T Nagar, Bangalore - 560032
Ph: 23548444/555, Fax: 23548999
Email: nightingales@vsnl.net
Website: http://www.dementiabangalore.in/

Kolkata:
Mr. PritiGopal Datta Ray
Secretary, ARDSI Calcutta chapter ,15/3c Naskar para lane kolkata-31, ph-24054959 /+ 91- 9830007576
Email: ardsikolkata@yahoo.co.in
Website: http://www.ardsikolkata.org/

Kottayam:
Mr. Mathew Joseph Kanamala,
Secretary, ARDSI Kottayam Chapter, Counsellor,
Trada De-Addiction Cum Rehabilitation Centre,
Manganam P.O. Kottayam - 686 018
Tel. 0481 – 2505156/2517676
Email: ardsiktm@yahoo.co.in

Mumbai:
Mr. C.G. Thomas,
President, ARDSI Mumbai Chapter, A-1, Anand Niketan,
Plot No. 46, Sector 9-A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai - 400 703.
Tel. 022 - 27667768/27 66-8324.
Email: cgthomas@rediffmail.com

ARDSI Greater Mumbai Chapter
Secretary – Mr. Sailesh Mishra
Bldg: ARENA - 3, Flat: 801/802,
Poonam Garden, Near S.K. Stone,
Off. Mira Bhayandar Road,
Mira Road (East),
Mumbai - 401107
Tel: 9987104233
Email:  ardsigreatermumbai@gmail.com
Website:  http://ardsigreatermumbai.blogspot.com




Thrissur:
Dr. A.C. Rajeswari Kunjamma,
Secretary, ARDSI Thrissur Chapter, "Karthika",
Chungam, Ayyanthole - 680 003. Thrissur.
Tel.0487- 2382 009.
Email: drkunjamma@rediffmail.com

GOA
Dr. Amit Dias
Secretary ARDSI Chapter of Goa Mainawaddo,
Aldona, Bardez, Goa - 403508.
Tel.0832 –2293315/2414027.
Email: apdias@sancharnet.in



National Administrative Office:
Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India
Guruvayur Road, P.B.No. 53 Kunnamkulam - 680 503
Kerala, India
Tel/Fax: 04885-223801, Helpline:98461 98786
Email: alzheimr@md2.vsnl.net.in
Website: http://www.alzheimer.org.in/

 

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Group meeting in Mumbai on Sat 29th Jan 2011

Holy Family Dementia Support Group, Mumbai Meeting will be held on Sat 29th Jan 2011 at Holy Family Hospital , Bandra West.

 

Holy Family Dementia Support Group is an extension programme of Silver Innings Dementia Support Group. It is supported by Silver Inning Foundation & ARDSI Greater Mumbai Chapter. 

Activity for Support Group:
Counselling, Training of family members, Training of professional care givers, Monthly Meeting, Awareness campaign, Sharing, Lectures, Reference Service etc. All services are free. Only therapy if required will be charged. 

Day:  Sat 29th Jan 2011 and Last Saturday of every month

Time: 4.00 pm to 5pm

Venue:

Memory Clinic
CHILD & ADOLESCENT GUIDANCE CENTRE
Holy Family Hospital
ST. ANDREW'S ROAD
BANDRA (WEST)
MUMBAI 400 050
INDIA

Tel : 022 -30610379 (For appointment Ctc Monday to Saturday between 10am to 4pm)Email: silverinnings@gmail.com ; ardsigreatermumbai@gmail.com

A Tribute to Vijay, inspiring fight with Alzheimer’s

It was sad to know the demise of Vijay on 21^st Jan 2011. Vijay had early onset of Alzheimer’s and was fighting it out for nearly 12yrs. 

He was family loving person and music was one of his hobbies. During his Alzheimer’s days, I still remember him Whistling song and playing popular song with Mouth Organ.  

The family was just with him; they provided him 24x 7 care at home and did everything possible to fight the disease. They showered him with love and caring. 

His wife Anu was his darling and she kept balance in managing home and work. His children have never left him alone. They all supported him to be independent till he can.

Hats off to the family who care for him and never allowed Alzheimer’s to become obstacle.

But Alzheimer at end won, it took away Vijay from all of us. It’s sad that since hundred years , the medical science has not found cure to this deadly Alzheimer’s disease. 

But Vijay and his family will always be inspiring  us and remind us to be more proactive and passionate towards the person and family suffering from Alzheimer’s.  They will always remind me that Love and Care is the only medicine for Dementia & Alzheimer's.

Just a small tribute to our beloved Vijay

Remember me with smile not with tears,

For all the joy through all the years.

Recall the closeness that was ours,

A Love as ‘sweet’ as fragrant flowers.

Don’t dwell on thoughts that cause you pain,

We’ll see each other once again,

Iam at peace….try to believe,

It was my Time… I had to leave.

But ‘what a view’ I have from here,

I see your face, I feel you near.

I follow you throughout the day,

You are not alone along the way.

I Love you and want you to be happy always.

The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God. 

 ARDSI Greater Mumbai chapter salutes Anu and her family.

China, in a Shift, Takes On Its Alzheimer’s Problem

Last year, an expensive, red-brick residential complex opened here, equipped with a hair salon, cinema, toy-cluttered game rooms and a karaoke suite offering the latest in pop music.

The residents are not Chinese yuppies. They are older patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in a nursing home that is on the forefront of a new effort by China to deal with its exploding elderly population.

“This is the best place we could imagine,” says Miao Yuqiang, a 49-year-old Shanghai bus driver who helped his 81-year-old mother enroll here. “By the time we found this nursing home, we were desperate.”

While many countries are struggling to cope with rapidly aging populations, in China there are forecasts that within three decades there could be nearly 400 million people over the age of 60 and, partly because of the one-child policy, a declining number of working-age people to care for them.

Recognizing the difficult road ahead, China is beginning to educate the public and the medical community about dementia, and big cities are making plans to build new facilities, like the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home.

The shift in attitudes is remarkable. A decade ago, many families were ashamed to admit that their elders had such a disease. And because of a lack of awareness about the disease, many dementia patients were confined to the psychiatric wards of hospitals, which placed steel bars over the windows.

But today, a growing number of families are desperate to place relatives in a nursing home. The problem, health experts say, is that there simply are not enough.

Health experts are predicting severe strains on the state and on working families here. And those strains could be compounded by the lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, even among medical professionals in China.

“This is an impending health crisis for China, and it may even exceed what’s happening in the U.S. because of the one-child policy,” said Rhoda Au, an associate professor at the Boston University School of Medicine.

In Shanghai, China’s wealthiest and most dynamic city, an estimated 120,000 residents have Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia. But city officials can identify only a handful of nursing homes trained to care for dementia patients.

Worries about the growing ranks of the elderly are amplified by what is being dubbed the 4-2-1 problem. In part because of the one-child policy, soon a single person in China will be expected to help support two parents and four grandparents. And as the elderly live longer, they are more likely to develop dementia, which requires expensive care.

To cope with a severe shortage of nursing homes, Shanghai is proposing what it calls the 90-7-3 plan, which means 90 percent of the elderly will need to be cared for at home, while 7 percent make occasional visits to a community center and 3 percent live in nursing homes.

“We’re planning to build at least one nursing home that can care for dementia patients in every district,” Zhang Fan, deputy director of social welfare at the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, said in a telephone interview. “Every year, we’ll need at least 5,000 additional beds.”

One of the major challenges will be figuring out who will pay for professional care. In the 1990s, China dismantled its old “iron rice bowl” system of cradle-to-grave financial support from the state. It was part of a move toward a more market-oriented economy. But it now means the nation’s social safety net is weak, and care for the elderly is underfunded.

Boston University is now conducting a study to measure dementia rates in China and to identify the factors that lead to higher risk. The aim is to slow the onset of the disorder and alleviate the heavy health care costs.

There is now pressure for speedier action. Although the Chinese have a tradition of caring for their elders at home, families in big cities complain about a lack of options.

Lu Peiyu has been struggling to find a place for her 63-year-old husband, who received a diagnosis of dementia three years ago. A former accountant, he is sitting at home because no one can be found to treat him.

“We thought about sending him to hospitals, but he ran away twice in two years,” said the man’s son-in-law. “The problem is there’s so far not a single nursing home that offered a suitable place for my father-in-law. Professional hospitals are all filled up, and private nursing homes don’t have qualified people.”

Mr. Miao, the Shanghai bus driver, is among those fortunate enough to have found a nursing home that can treat dementia.

His family’s ordeal is common here. Two years ago, his elderly mother began showing signs of memory loss after striking her head on the pavement outside her home.

She was hospitalized for a month. When she returned home — where she lived with her youngest son, Mr. Miao, his wife and their then 20-year-old son — she began to show signs of severe memory loss.

“She started getting lost on the street,” said the woman’s daughter-in-law, Luo Yuqin. “She’d even forget to turn off the boiling water on the stove.”

Today, Mr. Miao’s mother is at the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home and uses a wheelchair. She has lost her ability to speak and is prone to emotional fits, Mr. Miao said.

Mr. Miao visits her twice a week. A few Saturdays ago, he came with snacks and a plastic bag stuffed with hard-boiled eggs.

“Ma, is everything O.K.?” he said as he fed his mother from a small bottle of milk. Then, Mr. Miao’s wife jumped in, saying: “They really take care of her. We’re working people. We both drive a bus long hours. What would we do without this place?”

Dr. Zhang Naizi, president of the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home, says the center tries to care for dementia patients with a system of personalized attention that was first developed in Europe. The system includes keeping the patients active with memory games and insisting that the nursing staff constantly make hand contact with the patients, by simply rubbing their arms or hands while speaking to them, hoping to make them feel more secure.

He says the new facility has a multimedia room that can display images of Shanghai streets, and even images that appear to show the neighborhoods of the patients. This is supposed to make them feel at home. Many patients also wear GPS armbands that help the staff monitor their locations.

“I am proud to say we’re the first professional center for dementia patients,” Dr. Zhang said. “We are the first in the whole country. Ten years ago, dementia patients were sent to psychiatric wards. Things are different now.”


Chen Xiaoduan contributed research.

Source: http://www.globalaging.org/health/world/2011/ChinaAlzheimers.htm


China, in a Shift, Takes On Its Alzheimer’s Problem

3 days to go before the Early Bird deadline: 2011 Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) Conference

As we move forward in planning the conference, we are pleased to announce that registration and accommodation booking for this landmark conference is now open.

Professionals in dementia care, medical professionals, researchers, family caregivers, people living with dementia, and national Alzheimer associations will all find thoughtful, informative and innovative sessions, led by well known experts, that will continue to move the understanding of dementia further along.

As the conference theme “The Changing Face of Dementia” suggests, this is a time of significant re thinking of our understanding and thus our care and treatment of dementia and which directions research should be taking to determine the best approaches to slowing the progress of the disease and even to preventing its onset.

Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) and the Alzheimer Society of Canada are working together to ensure a warm welcome in Toronto for old friends and new acquaintances to the worldwide Alzheimer community. Toronto, the largest city in Canada and easily accessible by plane from
all over the world, is considered to be one of the most multicultural and diverse cities in the world where over 140 languages and dialects are spoken.

The downtown venue for the conference makes it easy to get around the city and experience all that it has to offer. The surrounding area is well worth a visit and of course Niagara Falls is a must see. The tour programme, available as part of the on-line registration process, offers delegates an opportunity to view this fantastic city, as well as a choice of wider excursions including Niagara Falls.

Please be sure to look through the conference website and register for the event. This website also contains all the information you need to know about submitting abstracts, the scientific programme and booking accommodation.

We hope that you will make attending the ADI 2011 conference a priority and together we will make it a success.


To know more : http://www.adi2011.org/default.aspx?PageID=Home

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Group in Mumbai

1)    Holy Family Dementia Support Group, Mumbai

Holy Family Dementia Support Group is an extension programme of Silver Innings Dementia Support Group. It is supported by Silver Inning Foundation & ARDSI Greater Mumbai Chapter. 

Activity for Support Group:
Counselling, Training of family members, Training of professional care givers, Monthly Meeting, Awareness campaign, Sharing, Lectures, Reference Service etc. All services are free. Only therapy if required will be charged. 

The Team:
Dr.Charles Pinto Adviser and Consultant.
Sailesh Mishra - coordinator. 

Contact: 9987104233/ 9029000091 (Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm), Email: silverinnings@gmail.com ; ardsigreatermumbai@gmail.com

Day:  Last Saturday of every month

Time: 4.00 pm to 5pm

Venue:

Memory Clinic
CHILD & ADOLESCENT GUIDANCE CENTRE
Holy Family Hospital
ST. ANDREW'S ROAD
BANDRA (WEST)
MUMBAI 400 050
INDIA

Tel : 022 -30610379 (Ctc Monday to Saturday between 10am to 4pm)

Area of operation:
Mumbai City.

2)    Silver Innings Dementia Support Group, in association with Silver Inning Foundation and Alzheimer’s and Related Disorder Society of India (ARDSI), Greater Mumbai

Contact details: 9987104233 / Email-   ardsigreatermumbai@gmail.com ,  silverinnings@gmail.com ;  Website - www.silverinnings.com

Contact Time: Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm.

Venue: Mira Road & Borivali

Activity for Support Group: 

The Silver Innings Dementia Support Group offers counselling, training of family members, training of professional care givers, monthly meetings, awareness campaigns, lectures, and reference service, Home Visits. The team members include psychiatrist, family member, clinical psychologist, nursing trainer and social worker. Most of the services are free . Only therapy if required will be charged. 

Meeting : as per mutual decision 

The current area of operation is from Andheri to Bhayander in Mumbai city

Fight against dementia: Awareness programs in Mumbai , India

Sailesh Mishra gave up his well paid marketing job in the corporate sector in 2004 to work full-time in the area of elder care, Alzheimer’s and development of less fortunate children. He is based in Mumbai. Because of his passion to work with elders he has started a social enterprise, Silver Innings, and later formed an NGO called Silver Inning Foundation, and also began a forum called People for Social Cause. Sailesh is actively involved with ARDSI and is Founder Sec. of ARDSI Greater Mumbai Chapter. He is also a consultant and advisor to other NGOs.

Sailesh utilizes his marketing and PR skill to market the issues of our elders through various forums and ICT /social Media. In this way he tries to reach the young and the old to sensitize and empower civil society with regards to elder care. As he works in elder care, he is very concerned about dementia and conducts regular awareness programs for it. He describes some of his experiences in the interview below.

For whom do you conduct these awareness programs?

Every year, in September, we go in for highly visible programs for a week to coincide with the World Alzheimer’s Day function. But this is not enough for the “Fight against Dementia.”

In addition to that, we try to arrange programs all through the year at various locations over Mumbai. Our target audience is mainly the elderly and their family members.

To effectively reach this audience, we work through local associations that have a sizable number of senior citizens, such as senior citizen clubs, bhajan mandals, and mahila samitis. Many of these associations are part of FESCOM (Federation of Maharashtra Senior Citizens), and our organization, Silver Inning Foundation, is also a member of this federation.

Many associations are very active and meet every week or every month. We volunteer to come for these meetings and present topics related to the elderly. We get audiences that range from 20 persons to as many as 120 persons.

Please describe the structure of your program.
Typically, our program spreads over two hours.

We use the first hour for an interesting audio-visual presentation where we explain Alzheimer’s and dementia to the audience. This includes showing them the excellent story prepared by Dr. Samuel which describes a case of an old lady who starts showing the symptoms of dementia.

The next hour is reserved for audience questions. If some of the persons present are interested, we also conduct a mini-screening for them. We also distribute reading material to the audience, and set up any further meetings for those who want them.

What are your observations regarding awareness of dementia?

The programs confirm the fact that awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s is very low in India.

Some people do not understand what “Alzheimer’s” is. Given that the name does not sound Indian, they think that this is some problem/ disease found only in the Western countries and has nothing to do with India. Many have never even heard the name.

On the other hand, there are others who think that this is something really horrible, worse than AIDS, and they are very frightened of the name. Such people even hesitate to attend the talks. You know that there is stigma attached to anything people consider a mental disease.
…awareness is essential for early diagnosis, and this lack of awareness delays any help the patient or family can get
Poor awareness is very unfortunate, because awareness is essential for early diagnosis, and this lack of awareness delays any help the patient or family can get.

As our focus is to reach out to as many elders as possible, we present dementia in the context of topics that concern elders, so that the audience is able to understand and participate effectively.

When you explain dementia to an audience of the elderly, do some of them get concerned that they may have dementia?

Yes, this is a common issue we address.

Everyone occasionally forgets things. Many members of the audience are concerned about whether their memory loss is a sign of dementia. We explain the difference between the memory loss that is normal, and the memory loss that is indicative of dementia. For example, many of us misplace our keys, but we are able to remember later where we put them, and such forgetting is normal. The memory loss found in dementia is more severe and affects the ability to do things. It is the behaviours and personality changes that make the situation worse.

While explaining the various warning signs of dementia, we also emphasize that we are not doctors. Our role in these programs is to spread awareness, and not to diagnose whether or not a member of the audience (or their relative) has dementia. Definitely, we are not authorised to label someone as a dementia patient. For people facing problems, we encourage them to contact the nearest psychiatrist if they (or their family members) display any of the symptoms we have discussed.

…no one should assume that someone has dementia and “label” a person as a patient without proper diagnosis
We are very clear that no one should assume that someone has dementia and “label” a person as a patient without proper diagnosis. We suggest that people consult a doctor, and maybe take a second opinion, to get a diagnosis. We have with us an area-wise list of Mumbai psychiatrists that people can use, depending on the locality where they stay.
We also caution people from consulting too many doctors, or changing doctors in the hope that there will be a cure. There is no cure for dementia.

How does the audience respond to the fact that there is no cure for dementia?

Most of our audience is in the age-group of 60 to 70, and when they hear dementia described, and also hear that there is no cure, this can be very frightening for them. In fact, we have seen many families even ignoring the problem. They don’t give medicine as it does not help, and many of them want to put the person with dementia into an old age home.

So they ask: how can dementia be prevented?

While there is no definitive way to prevent dementia, there are things that elders can do to remain active and healthy. We explain many such ways to the audience. Here are some of the suggestions we make:

Do activities that keep the mind active, such as the puzzles and crosswords that come in the newspapers
Continue to do things that you did earlier, before retirement. For example, if you were an accountant, continue to maintain your home accounts
Do volunteer work to remain active and useful, and to meet people
Have an active social life
Maintain your health by exercise and healthy food habits
One very important way of stimulating the mind is to do something that is different from what one is used to doing.
One very important way of stimulating the mind is to do something that is different from what one is used to doing. For example, if someone drinks tea every morning, that person can drink nimbu pani on a few days instead, or have coffee. If someone is used to climbing by putting the right foot on the step, he/ she can try using the left foot first instead.
We also teach many small exercises, such as rubbing hands, to stimulate the brain.
We also describe alternate therapies that elders find useful, such as music therapy, and reflexology.
There are many such tips, and I suggest you attend a meeting to hear more about them. In fact, people are interested in music therapy specially the Indian spiritual one.

What are the other common concerns you encounter?

In some cases, some members of the audience already have a patient at home. Their questions are related on how to handle challenging behaviour. Common examples of behaviours that stress family members are when a patient repeatedly insists that he/ she wants to go to the toilet, or keeps asking the same question again and again.

We explain various caregiving methods for communication and for handling difficult behaviour.

…love and care is the only medicine for the person and the family…
One thing we make sure we tell people is that love and care is the only medicine for the person and the family. Also we try to explain to them that there is life after Alzheimer’s–because people can still sing, dance and enjoy life. This positive side was explained to us by Prof Cathy Greenblat.

You had mentioned that you also distribute material to the audience. Could you tell us about that?

Yes, we distribute material and also do various follow-up. Our awareness programs are not just talking about dementia for a couple of hours; we see our role as resource persons in this area.

The booklet we distribute explains the ten warning signs of dementia and has Mumbai specific resources, such as helpline numbers, and other resources that people may find useful.

In fact, in the next few months, we are launching India’s first Elder Resources Director – ‘Mapping Of Services’ for Elders for Mumbai MMRDA area. This will be a boon for many Senior Citizens and their family members.

Sometimes we also coordinate with other concerned organizations so that a one-minute screening is made available as part of the awareness program. While this is not sufficient or rigourous enough for a diagnosis, it helps the audience get a better understanding of what dementia symptoms are, and to decide whether to go to a doctor.

We also have a list of psychiatrists for each area that people can use to identify the doctor to consult.

Sometimes, some of the audience members are not comfortable talking to us in front of others. In case they want to discuss more about their specific concerns (or concerns related to someone else at home) we also do follow-up home-visits at a nominal cost.

One major need people have is that of trained attendants for patients at home. While we are not in a position to provide such attendants, we do give people the contact for various bureaus in Mumbai that supply attendants.

We also offer to train family members and attendants on caregiving for dementia patients.

We hope that with such programs, awareness of dementia will increase and people will be able to get diagnosed earlier and get help for both the patients and their families.

Silver Innings is working towards creating Elder Friendly World where Ageing becomes a Positive and Rewarding Experience.

Thank you, Sailesh.

Sailesh can be contacted at his e-mail:silverinnings@gmail.com, ardsigreatermumbai@gmail.com and via Silver Innings and through his forum, People for Social Cause Blog (links: http://peopleforsocialcause.blogspot.com and http://silverinnings.blogspot.com/ ). He can also be approached via Facebook and Twitter.

Source:  http://dementia-care-notes.in/sailesh-interview/

Welcome to ARDSI Greater Mumbai ChapterBlog

Its gives me immense pleasure to Launch ARDSI Greater Mumbai Blog. 

The concept is to disseminate the information , knowledge and skill to the family members , care givers and Civil Society.

I will be happy to get support from you all in spreading the word.

Remember Those who Cannot Remember