In the push to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease, which affects 4 million Americans, a key target is being overlooked - individuals in the early stages of the disease.
"Communities have done a really good job providing services to Alzheimer family caregivers, including support groups and online resources," says Lisa Gwyther, who heads up the
Alzheimer's Family Support program at Duke University and spoke at World Alzheimer Congress 2000 in Washington, D.C. last week.
She and other Alzheimer experts are calling for health officials and community organizations to focus similar outreach attention on developing programs that reach those who
have recently been diagnosed with the disease. One model that Gwyther recommended was the "Morning Out Club" hosted by the Alzheimer's Association of San Diego. Once a week, a
group of individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer's meet for four hours and do a supervised activity, from creating memory boxes for hospice families to playing sports and
visiting a cultural institution.
The national Alzheimer's Association has also created a special place on its Web site, http://www.alz.org, for people with Alzheimer's to post
messages, share poetry and learn about the disease.
(Alzheimer's Association, Nicole Heller, 312/335-4037)