MIDLAND, Texas —
The Alzheimer's Association of West Texas held their Alzheimer’s education conference on Wednesday at the Bush Convention Center in Midland.
The annual education conference provides strategies for caregivers, friends and families that are impacted by Alzheimer's and other dementia related diseases.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, nearly 7 million Americans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease. In Texas alone, there are more than 459,000 people living with the disease.
However, the Alzheimer’s Association said they’ve noticed that younger people usually don’t seem too concerned about Alzheimer's.
“The number one issue that we're facing is that common misperception of people thinking Alzheimer's is related to just to senility or old age, not anymore. We have diagnosis as young as 47 years old, people in their 40s, 50s that already being diagnosed with a form of dementia or Alzheimer's, as we see it,” said Valerie Sanchez, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association West Texas Chapter.
This year's conference featured professionals from various fields discussing a wide range of topics, like responding to dementia related behaviors, legal matters, transfer techniques for patient care, palliative vs. Hospice care and caregiver self-care.
“We arm our community with this knowledge, with this education, anything they need to know about these various dementias, that does help us make us stronger and we can fight that prevalence that resides in our communities,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez also said people need to move past the stereotype of Alzheimer’s just being a case of severe forgetfulness so people can better understand it and know what to do when encountering it.
“Typically, folks believe that Alzheimer's is a forgetfulness disease. 'Oh, you just forgot something,' but it's not just a memory issue. It goes deeper than that and that's where we educate our community on exactly what Alzheimer's and other dementia is,” Sanchez said.
The Alzheimer's Association has a national 24/7 helpline that people can call if they need any information about local resources or consultations related to Alzheimer's and dementia. That number is 800-272-3900.