Dementia Map: Global Resource Directory

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

Welcome to the answers for elders radio show. meet the trusted experts who will give you straight answers and we’ll help guide you on the path of later life care. Now here’s your host, founder, caregiver and CEO, Susanne Newman, and welcome back to our final segment with our wonderful Lori Leabey from Alzheimer’s speaks Dot Com. And we’ve been talking about her story, Um, how why she started Alzheimer’s speaks and all of the tools and the resources available. And Lorie, it’s been such an honor to have you with this this hour. It’s been awesome. It’s flying by quick. I know it is, but it’s like, it’s amazing how fast Um when we get going on a conversation like this. So, Um, you are obviously somebody that has been a pioneer in many ways, and Um, I want to talk a little bit about, um a pro gram that you have in our last segment that’s called the dementia map and that’s kind of interesting and Um, how what is it and what is it? How does it help? So? Dementia Map is a global resource directory, Um that I co founded with Dave Weiderick, who has the memory cafe directories for five different countries. There’s I think close to thirteen hundred of those now that people can search. But this concept was a dream of mind for over forty years. I mean, it’s just ridiculous and it really saddens me that large organizations haven’t done this. This is such a need to connect families and professionals to services, products and tools at all levels. But the way healthcare is established as we have our government agencies, we have our nonprofits, and then we have our for profits, and our for profits are always viewed as bad and evil and and the nonprofits in the in the government agencies worked together a little more. Now that has changed, and they don’t and they don’t get back to people in time, and they’re not timely, and they’re not well it’s and they’re they’re deep there. They’re big, big websites and even like my website, Alzheimer’s space, I had to Redo it because there was just too much in there and it wasn’t easy to find. And so you know, I I talk with people around the Globe and the messaging is always the same, we need help. Where do we find support? Um? They they love the Internet, but they’re really tired of giving their personal information away. They don’t want to get scammed, they don’t want to get hacked, they don’t want to be bothered, and they just want to be able to mind information. And you know, Google has done us all wonderful, you know, in some ways. But if you google something, if you even know what you’re looking for. And that’s the problem when you first get a diagnosis, you don’t even know what you’re looking for. Um, you get three pages of paid ads. That doesn’t mean that that’s going to serve you best stards in your area, you know whatever. And so UM DEMENTIA MAP UM. We have basically four different categories. We’ve got the resource directory, we have a calendar of events, we have a glossary of terms, and then we have a blog. And we wanted it to be really simple for people to use. So we don’t have moving parts. There’s nothing flashy and shining. You know, a lot of times there’s the slider bars and stuff. But we know people with dementia are easily distracted. We know their care partners, if they’re family or professional, they’re exhausted right now, they’re and they’re tired, and so we needed to be able to have something that was specific. So we have a hundred and fifty categories that people can search, and we’ve broken that into seven specific categories where they can break things down. They can search by location five miles to two hundred miles, or city, state and country, or all over the world. And that’s another paradigm shift that I really wanted to work on, was getting people to understand everything does not have to be in your backyard anymore. It doesn’t. And through Covid, I think more and more families understood that, but I still can’t tell you how many corporations don’t get that they went in their backyard. And there are so many resources, many of them free out there Um that people can tap into so they will find things like one of the stories I love is called the Footbar Walker. It was made by two friends for two friends, and the woman uh it was Peggy and George White who needed the needed a walker. They needed help to be able to keep him at home. And I think they had been married like sixty years and George was the one using the Walker, and Peggy said, I just don’t think I can keep them home much longer. I’m hurting him and I’m hurting me, you know, transfer in him getting him up to that Walker, and I you know, I’m I’m throwing his arm out, I’m throwing my back and my neck out. So their friends, Nancy and Gary, were visiting and Gary, Um, Gary is not an architect, Um Gosh, and I’m gonna go brank dead. He’s an engineer. So he went. They bought a walker and he made an add onto it. So on top there’s just a like a handlebar that the care partner holds onto, and then there’s a little flipped down Um lever that the care partner stands on and a person up to three fifty pounds can pull themselves up. It’s amazing. And then they had to fight to get a code to get it covered because it was viewed kind of as a foo Fu item. There are tons of things like this happening where people have seen an issue just like I have, just like you haven’t said I’m gonna trying to make a difference, but nobody’s pulling them together. And that’s what map really tries to do. So our UM activity section has all kinds of great stuff that really helped people, especially during covid when all of a sudden, there’s no adult day, there’s you know, there’s no programming for people, and they’re just feeling lost. So there’s a program called like music men’s minds, and those are Um licensed music therapist providing free therapy sessions like three times a week that people and people, you know, some people sit in home, some people get up and dance. Some people one guy picked up an instrument after twenty years and started playing. I mean, there’s just these beautiful, beautiful stories or all authors Um that has got I think over three fifty authors of all different types of genres that come from the perspective Ben they’re done that. Um. You know, we have um a section on housing, we have a section on support services, have a section on products. Um We have a section on Um you know, speakers and and things like that media, so you can dive pretty deep on this. And then the calendar. You know, that’s one of the biggest complaints. People go like where do I find information? And you know, people a lot of times they just don’t have the money to you know, purchase this Webinar and do this and do that, and so they can go on there and many of these things are free. You know teepest snow who’s you know internationally, he has tons of stuff on there. You know, I’ve got programs on there. Lots of lots of people do and that is that is constantly changing. So we want everything kind of from a ice cream social in in your neighborhood to international conferences on there. Um. And then we have the glossary of terms. Because you don’t know what you Doun’t know, tell you that you share it out. Yeah, and so we have we have just short little three sentence summaries for words. And then if if some of our members have um written an article, will link that too. And then we’ve got a blog section as well. Um and we everyone can be part of this. So if you are listening and you know of a great service, pass it on because they can sign up for free to let people know about their services, products or tools, or they can do an enhanced program either are pro or are featured where they get more marketing and banner ads and things like that, write more articles. Um. But it we just wanted something that was simple for people to maneuver through and be able to take their time. So people can search by these categories they can search by dots on the map so if they really are looking for something specific, or they can look through cards that we have and just scroll through all of those. Um So, we we try to really look at different learning styles and the way people digest information. And our feedback has been wonderful, Um from you know, from professionals that have thought, well, I don’t need this, this is great for families, and then they’re like, oh my gosh, I didn’t know this existed, or thank godes you told me this. I’m going to have to do some mining on this because there is stuff I don’t know. But I think I think so often we get in this place of well, I know what’s in my area, and so that’s all I need to know. That’s all there is. Well that’s not the world we live in anyway. And I think one of the things you’re saying, which is we’re really at the forefront of a term that we in the content world need to embrace more, and that is collaboration. I think everyone that does, you know, they all have their specialty. Like I’m hearing all this stuff that you have, and it’s like part of me was says I need that on answers for others. Well, guess what we can connect to you we and provide that resource because we all have our own you know, niche in the industry and certainly our own center desire to help the families that are dealing with you know, Alzheimer’s disease. And you know, it’s like what we talk about a lot before is the fact that you know, you and I have kind of been the you know, we’ve been the eight handred pound gorillas guerrillas out there in the podcast world. You know, we’ve got a lot of content, and Um the good news about that is is that we can now share that information between each other and help you know, everyone at is as greater connectiveness, you know, creating more synergy. And I think that’s the really great thing about what you’re doing is bringing all these resources together in one kind of Um you know, tapestry. Yeah. And it’s it’s hard because you know, there was a point where I actually called Um Mark, who was the head of eight I um Alzheimer’s Disease International at one time, and said, I think I have to move because the US does not get this collaboration thing. And he was roaring and and I said Mark, I’m serious, and he’s like, you really don’t understand, why do you? And he and I said no, and he said, Lorie, over here, we’ve always worked for the greater good. Your country was started because people wanted to be proprietary and that just opened up the world to me in terms of interesting. Yeah, but it but it is changing and it is getting better. But we’ve got a lot ways to go. Yes, we do, and you know, with your help obviously, Um, you know, we’re going to make it a better place. And so Lori thank you so much for being with us this hour. How do we reach you again? Really simple, just go to ALZHEIMER’S SPEAKS DOT COM to us is in the middle and you can uh find all of our resources and you can reach out and contact or donate or whatever you’d like to do. Well, and we’re I just want you to know what a joy it is to have have reconnected with you for this last while and and you’ve made such a difference in our industry and I am so honored to know you and looking forward to maybe seeing you back again real soon. I would love to and thank you. You are making a huge difference as well, and it’s always nice to talk to like minded people. Yes, absolutely, and to each and every one of you. Again, you can go find more information about Alzheimer’s Uh and trust me, it’s a great resource. GO TO ALZHEIMER’S SPEAKS DOT COM and until next week till we drop another episode, be good to each other. We it answers for elders. Thank you for listening. Do you know that you can discover hundreds of podcasts in our library on senior care? So visit our website and discover our decision guides that will help you also navigate decision making. Find US AT ANSWERS FOR ELDERS DOT COM. m