Media Release
Canadians with Dementia Fight to Win
‘A Changing Melody’ forum being held November 5 in Toronto
October 18, 2006 – From one person with dementia to another – the message is clear: fight to win, and no matter
how hard it becomes, never give up.
This empowering message will be the focus of a one-day forum in Toronto November 5, a unique event organized by
people with dementia, for people with dementia. Through workshops, key note speakers and interactive panel
discussions, ‘A Changing Melody: A Learning and Sharing Forum for Persons with Early-stage Dementia and their
Partners in Care’, will give people the opportunity to learn how to become strong self-advocates, as well as gain
knowledge to actively improve their quality of life.
“Memory loss makes each day a challenge, but I have realized that if I don’t give up, I will always conquer, I will
always be able to fight,” says forum planning committee member Elaine Smith, who was diagnosed with vascular
dementia in 2003.
Smith, who attended the first ever ‘Changing Melody’ forum shortly after her diagnosis, credits this event with
providing the motivation she needed to fight back against the disease, and to walk the walk with dignity. The former
registered nurse encourages anyone with early stage dementia and their partners in care to attend, noting that
“together we are a family, and we learn coping skills from each other.”
Program highlights of the one-day forum include:
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presentations by people living with early-stage dementia, including the key note address on ‘Fighting Together
to Win’
a workshop on enhancing abilities through meaningful activities
an interactive panel discussion on rising above misconceptions.
Dementia is a progressive condition characterized by a decline in mental abilities and changes in personality and
behaviour. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, accounts for about 64 per cent of those
diagnosed with dementia. Currently, an estimated 420,000 Canadians over 65 years have Alzheimer’s disease or a
related dementia. In Ontario, there are 155,000 individuals affected and that figure is expected to more than double by
2020.
The forum, being held at The Westin Harbour Castle, is organized by the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education
Program (MAREP), a major division of the RBJ Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, Faculty of Applied Health
Science at the University of Waterloo, in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the Alzheimer Society of
Ontario and the Dementia Advocacy and Support Network International.
For more information or to register for ‘A Changing Melody’, please visit www.marep.uwaterloo.ca, or call (519) 8884567 ext. 35040. Travel grants for participants, provided by the Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC) and the
Alzheimer Society of Ontario, are also available by calling (519) 888-4567 ext. 35040.
For more information, please contact:
Patricia Wilkinson, Alzheimer Society of Canada
416-488-8772 x 232 or 1-800-616-8816
pwilkinson@alzheimer.ca
-30Lisa Loiselle, MAREP
(519) 888-4567 x 35040
loiselle@healthy.uwaterloo.ca