In December 2022, I attended the 2022 Asia Pacific ADI Conference in Taipei (Taiwan). At this conference I delivered two abstract presentations which were titled:
· From Post Diagnostic Support Model to Developing a personalised Reablement Plan
· Evaluating the success of my Neuro-cognitive Training Program
Presentation 1 - From Post Diagnostic Support Model to Developing a personalised Reablement Plan
In the first presentation I introduced a holistic approach that I had created to help me manage my diagnosis on a daily basis. I refer to this as My Tree of Awakening your Positivity (TAP) as it is made up of many different actions, thoughts and concepts (leaves of positivity) that I follow each day. From these leaves of positivity, I then constructed the 4 Pillars and Priority Areas that form my Post Diagnostic Support Model.
By utilising the resources that were developed by Hammond Care and applying their definition of reablement in a biopsychosocial framework, I then used my Post Diagnostic Support Model to create my own personalised care and support (Reablement) plan. Each of the five Reablement Plans that I presented all follow the same basic template and are designed to provide with the opportunity to hopefully live a better life. Given the projected future trends of the number of people diagnosed with dementia, I believe that my personal Post Diagnostic Support Model and Reablement Plan would be helpful to people who are living with dementia.
A copy of this PowerPoint presentation can be accessed here.
Presentation 2 - Evaluating the success of my Neuro-cognitive Training Program
Even though I was diagnosed with Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in July 2019, I made the decision at the start of 2021, that I now wanted to participate in master’s Swimming and Surf Lifesaving as a competitor. However, due to the changes in my cognitive and motor skills caused by my diagnosis, I realised that in order to achieve this goal I needed some professional help. So, I approached two Exercise Physiologists from Empower Physiology to design a Neuro-Cognitive Training Program (NCTP) for me. This program consists of a range of neurological rich exercises that are designed to improve my balance, coordination, and reflex actions. To date, I have competed at a local, state, and national level in Australia. By the end of this year (2022), I hope to have competed in two international master competitions – the World Lifesaving Championships and the swimming component of the Pan-Pacific Master Games.
In this presentation, I evaluated the success of this Neuro-Cognitive Training Program in allowing me to reach each of the 11 goals that I have nominated. This will be achieved by using the Turner-Stokes (2017) GAS-Light scoring system to analyse how my times in master’s Swimming (Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly) over a range of distances (25 m, 50 m and 100 m) have changed in a period of 21 months. Likewise, this tool will also be applied to master’s Surf Lifesaving where there are four timed events in the Pool Rescue Championships. Using a verbal rather a numerical description, this tool will also be applied to the range of events that I am now able to compete in master’s Swimming and Surf Lifesaving. In this way I will be able to calculate a numerical measure which will indicate how successful this Neuro-Cognitive Program has been in allowing me to achieve each of my goals.
A copy of this PowerPoint presentation can be accessed here.