COVER STORY
alone at home, it would have given the family greater reassurance too.
when it is needed and reduces anxiety for those with brain injury.”
“People with brain injury often act differently and the response from people in the community is usually to ignore it. The National Assistance Card offers a simple solution to this as it communicates their condition to those around the person who may be struggling.
Buttrose's father, who had macular degeneration and hearing loss to contend with in addition to dementia, did not want to go into a nursing home. “As a family, we would do our best to keep him at home, which we did until he died ten days before his ninetieth birthday, several years after his initial diagnosis with dementia.”
“One of the main benefits of the Card is the focus on assistance, not disability. It is a simple and practical solution to understanding the behavioural effects that can occur resulting from a brain injury." “At some stage in most people’s lives, they will need some support, and this is especially true of people with brain injury. There is no reason not to ask for aid and the Card assists them to do just that.” In circumstances where there may be hesitancy, such as the checkout with a credit card or cash transaction, showing the National Assistance Card would enable either the checkout assistant or someone in the queue to offer help, she said. “The Card can provide assistance
Speaking about his dementia, Buttrose said on one occasion he became agitated at his local bank where he announced he had no money. However, if her father had produced a card showing he needed guidance, then the bank would have been able to deal with this matter on his behalf. At the time, it was necessary for Buttrose to contact the bank and the pharmacy, which her father visited regularly, and ask them to phone her if necessary. Having a National Assistance Card would most likely have avoided this happening. “There were times when my father was perfectly lucid, while at other times, he would suddenly become agitated and confused. Dementia is definitely an invisible disease, even though it is a major cause of disability and dependency among older people. I believe the National Assistance Card would help demystify dementia’s invisibility and encourage people to “see” the person behind the diagnosis. When someone is confused in public, Dementia Australia encourages people to stop and ask themselves “could it be dementia?” and consider ways to assist. Having the National Assistance
Card would enable a person with dementia to connect with others and feel more positive.” Buttrose said she would do “whatever is needed to promote and encourage uptake of the Card.” She first became aware of the National Assistance Card while attending an event at the Royal Hobart Hospital early in 2021 and was approached by Brain Injury Association of Tasmania Executive Officer Deborah Byrne to promote it. “I could see the advantages of the card immediately,” she said. Her involvement in health and community services also includes patrons for Dementia Australia and the Macular Disease Foundation and a spokesperson for osteoporosis. “I believe life is not just for taking but also giving. If you can devote some time to helping others, it’s rewarding. Helping others enriches your life and makes you grow as a human being. None of us know when we might need a helping hand. “I always hope that should this happen to me someone would put themselves in my shoes and ask how they could help me. My mother raised my brothers and I to volunteer - as children, she had us selling Legacy buttons in Sydney’s CBD, manning fete stalls for The Spastic Centre Mosman (now the Cerebral Palsy Alliance), collecting coins at RPA Hospital fundraisers at Bondi Beach’s Pavilion. I am glad she did. The work I do in the community is an important part of my life.” linkonline.com.au
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