Mike Belleville, 52, is a member of DAA's Advisory Board. He is living with Lewy body dementia. What does a day in the life look like for a person living with dementia? It obviously varies depending on the progression of the person’s dementia. Although I was diagnosed 8 years ago at the age of 52, I am still thankfully experiencing early symptoms of Lewy body dementia. I am challenged on a daily basis [...]
AgingME is Maine's Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. Under the leadership of Dr. Susan Wehry, AgingME works to build an age-friendly healthcare system, "transforming primary care practices and engaging and empowering older adults". The Dementia Action Alliance's ongoing partnership with AgingME furthers our ability to create a better world in which to live with dementia. The below videos were recently produced to provide a better understanding of first-hand experiences of people living with dementia. [...]
The Dementia Action Alliance’s (DAA) Optimizing Well-Being Workgroup, working with the Lewy Body Dementia Association, hosted a viewing of SPARK on June 10, 2021. This panel discussion followed the viewing, featuring the perspectives and experiences of Mike Belleville and Barney Nelson, DAA Advisory Board members living with Lewy body dementia, and LeeAnn Mandarino from the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. The SPARK documentary is a 45-minute adaptation of the film that [...]
by Jackie Pinkowitz, M.Ed. As Board Chair of the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA), I am privileged to interact with friends and colleagues living with dementia across our country. These individuals are “Making a Real Difference” through personal pathways of advocacy in their communities, their states, and our country. Whether through speaking engagements, writing, social media, video podcasts, or sharing their artistic talent with others, each one advances a common mission of making the United [...]
Mary L. Radnofsky, Ph.D. DAA Advisory Council I was recently asked about the voting rights of people with dementia in America, especially when entering memory care. It’s an important issue to those of us with a diagnosis. But this question also addresses our fundamental identity as human beings, for we have a voice that should be heard not only in the governance of our country, but in our personal autonomy. The right to vote [...]
DAA thanks the Georgia Pharmacy Association (GPhA) Journal for allowing us to re-post Phil Ratliff's article on our Board member Robert Bowles being awarded "The Larry L. Braden Meritorious Service Award". Ask those who know Robert Bowles to describe the 69-year old retired pharmacist from Thomaston, and you’ll likely detect a pattern: driven, intellectually curious, a problem-solver, a man with purpose and passion. So, in 2012, when Bowles was diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia, [...]
By Deborah Shouse, writer, speaker, editor, and dementia advocate. One by one, we say hello via video conferencing, writers, artists, and arts advocates from all over the country. One sculptor enriches the visual aspects of our meeting by strolling through a museum, giving us occasional glimpses of vibrant art. We meet another artist’s dog. Via video, we see each other’s offices and learn each other’s names and goals. Some of the participants are living [...]
