Most of us know someone who has dementia. And if we know that person well, we understand the struggles they endure.
A reticence to go into stores and restaurants.
A pause before responding to a question.
Often feeling alone or overwhelmed.
Among the varied characteristics of dementia are an eroding of confidence when it comes to doing everyday activities.
Confusion, or fear of it, and forgetfulness, or fear of it, can make a person with dementia feel isolated or even unwelcome in their own hometown.
But there’s an initiative sweeping the nation that aims to combat these feelings and ensure that the 5 million Americans living with cognitive impairment issues, as well as the 15 million people caring for them, feel included and safe in their communities.
Dementia Friendly America started in 2015. The movement has since been embraced in most states, including Illinois, where more than 25 communities have now earned the Dementia Friendly designation.
Among those already onboard are Naperville, Elgin, Orland Park, Highland Park and the Austin and Washington Heights neighborhoods of Chicago.
Tinley Park is hoping to join the ranks this spring.
Assistant Village Manager Hannah Lipman said the southwest suburb actually started the application process before COVID but the chaos caused by the pandemic put everything on hold.
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Now that life is resuming some semblance of normalcy, she said, staff is moving ahead with the process, which involves filing an application and training various members of the community to recognize the signs of dementia so they can communicate more effectively with people who have it.
With the help of Porter Place Memory Care, more than 75 village staffers have undergone training, including firefighters, police officers and front counter workers, Lipman said
Next up is the public library and local businesses, she said.
Colleen Kamin, executive director of Porter Place, a memory care facility in Tinley Park, said, “While we care for those who live with us, it is important to us that all of those affected by dementia disorders and their families and caregivers are treated with respect, dignity and an understanding of this devastating disease.”
In order to do that, she brings training sessions into the community.
Anne Sortino, management analyst for the village of Tinley Park, said, “One of the issues with dementia is that too many options can be very overwhelming.”
To prevent anger or anxiety caused by option overload, she said, a dementia friendly restaurant might offer a simplified menu, with just a few selections. “It lets the person with dementia feel normal. It lets them enjoy the outing,” she said.
It’s all about letting people with dementia to participate in society while making the community more compassionate, Sortino said.
Elgin, Arlington Heights and Naperville were among the first communities in Illinois to become accredited.
In Naperville, which earned the distinction in 2020, the public library now uses brightly colored signage to help direct people with dementia to the services they’re looking for, said Lisa Kirchner, co-chair for Dementia Friendly Naperville. The police and fire departments use the 90-second rule to allow people with the impairment time to process a question and formulate an answer. They also offer safety alert bracelets and anklets that can be used to locate people who wander off.
Kirchner said the city also takes part in Memory Café, part of a national movement to offer monthly social gatherings for people with dementia and their caregivers.
“We’ve gotten great turnout and feedback on that,” she said.
The purpose of the Dementia Friendly movement, Kirchner said, is to make dementia “more realized and more publicized” and to make the community more sensitive to the needs of people with the diagnosis.
By 2030, she said, it’s estimated that nearly 20% of the population in America will be older than 65, increasing the likelihood that almost everyone will know someone with dementia.
By making America dementia friendly, Kirchner said, the public will better understand the condition, increasing acceptance and inclusion while curbing what can be a lifestyle of isolation for millions of people.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years.