Online Newsletter
September 2009
This Month
- National Dementia Awareness Week 2009
- Members Article - Breaking the Blame Spiral
- Spark of Life Memberships - Designed to meet your individual needs
- Product of the Month: Spark of Life Club Program
With the
Southern Hemisphere entering the rejuvenating season of spring, the warmer
weather and longer days brings new opportunities to explore the outdoors. Consider
starting a new garden project that enables the person with dementia to enjoy
the fresh air. Activities can involve active participation or passive enjoyment
through stimulation of the senses. Sensory-based activities may involve the
experience of simply enjoying sitting or walking in the garden stimulated by
the different sights, sounds, touch and fragrances.
Discover more in our
article, Gardens - A Joy Forever.
National Dementia Awareness Week 2009
The theme for this year's National Dementia Awareness Week (15 - 25 September) is 'Facing the Epidemic.' The Spark of Life Approach to this
'epidemic' is to provide balanced information that enables people to be symptom
free for as long as possible and stay engaged with meaningful activities.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
Members Article - Breaking the Blame Spiral
Have you ever found yourself thinking, 'If only
John would stop his continuous repetitive questions, it would be so much easier
to care for him!', or perhaps, 'Because mum doesn't recognise me, I won't go and
visit anymore.'
These
real life examples are very understandable however because they are based on
blame, neither reaction is going to create happiness. Members, login to our website to read this article.
Interested
in becoming a member? Visit our website to find out how.
Memberships to Suit your Individual Needs
While our website contains plenty of
free and valuable information, which you can put to use straight away, you
don't need to do it on your own. The real benefits come through Spark of Life Membership.
The insights you will gain from your membership will have a profound
effect on your attitude to dementia and on your every interaction with
the person who has dementia.
Dementia
Care Australia offers three levels of membership, specially
designed to suit the needs of everyone interested in the Spark of Life Approach. From home carers and aged care staff to entire aged care facilities, there is a membership tailored to your needs.
Platinum Membership:
Designed to benefit all involved with an aged care facility or
organisation. This membership enables the Leader of an organisation to
create a Spark of Life Culture.
Gold Membership: Benefits all professionals within an aged care setting. This membership
is ideal for aged care organisations who wish to offer extra support
to their staff.
Silver Membership: For aged care staff who want to join as a single member and
not as part of an organisation or aged care facility.
Question
& Answer's from our Online Forums
Visit
our online Member's Forums to discover a wide range of questions and answers
from members facing the daily challenges of dementia care. Our forums allow our
members to ask advice from one another, or have any question answered by a DCA
consultant. Non-members are also welcome to visit our forum.
Product
of The Month
The
Spark of Life Club Program has been internationally recognised as part of
the 2009 IAHSA Excellence in Ageing Services and to celebrate you have the opportunity to purchase this comprehensive
program at the special price of $650
until 30 September. That's a saving of $145!
The Spark of
Life Club Program educational set introduces a unique activities program that re-ignites the
Spark of Life in people with dementia and everyone involved in their
care. Researched
at
Curtin
University in WA and benchmarked as
Best Practise in Wisconsin,
USA, the program
can be successfully implemented in any residential facility. To watch an
introduction to the Spark of Life Club Program, please click here.
Your
Spark of Life Club Program includes: 
- Six educational
DVD's
- Spark of Life Handbook
- Club Level Assessment Form
- Ten Theme Activity Cards
- Bradford Wellbeing Profile
Evaluation Tool
Normal Price: $795
Special Price: $650
Order now to ensure you take full advantage of these
savings. Offer ends 30 September
2009.
Spark of Life Resources
NEW: Best Friends Book of Alzheimers Activities - Vol 2
NEW to our collection, Best Friends Book of Alzheimers Activities - Vol 2 expands on the
best selling Volume 1. Everyone will enjoy this book, with over 149 fresh ideas for
creative engagements in five new themes. Plus five favourite themes from the
first volume are expanded on with new activities and tips. Click here for more information.
 Role Play Kit: Elsa's Story
Elsa's Story
is a powerful role play that highlights the behaviours that undermine
self-esteem and identity. This kit contains a printed Elsa's Story
script, 5 hearts to
tear and a license to tell the story. Click here to see Jane Verity perform this role play and understand its powerful
message.
Rainbow Windsock
With its vibrant rainbow colours, this spinning windsock is
sure to captivate and delight. Made
in Australia from a durable, high quality fabric featuring six
brilliant rainbow hues and air vents which catch the wind to set them
spinning in a kaleidoscope of colour. Visit our online shop for more information.
Rainbow Spinning Basket
These rainbow spinning baskets
have 2 different sized baskets
that rotate in opposite directions. Adding rainbow colours and movement
to any outdoor space, these baskets will be a favourite of people with
dementia.
Visit our online shop for more information.
Rainbow Twister
This twister never rests while there is a breeze blowing!
Measuring 1.5 metres in length, this twister provides a cascade of
rainbow colours that appear to pour down as it twists. Visit our online shop for more information.
*** As with all our products, our Spark of Life Platinum and Gold Members receive an additional 10% discount.
DCA Team Update
Spring
has signalled a busy time in the DCA office with Annika (Client
Support) recently welcoming her baby boy, Connor, into the DCA family
and
Jennifer (Marketing) going on maternity leave before the birth of her
first
child. We also farewelled Helen (Danish Client Relations) who left to
pursue other interests. We are sure you all join us in welcoming our
new team members, Marcus Bird (CEO), Dee (Client Support & PA), and
Lee-Anne (Sales & Marketing).
We like to feature our members on the DCA website, so if you have a special event or Spark of Life story you would like to share please feel free to contact us via email at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Warmest Regards,
The entire DCA Team
Know someone who might enjoy our newsletter?
Simply forward this email on and share the Spark of Life.
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Dementia Care Australia | PO Box 378 | Mooroolbark | 3138 | Australia
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