the essential
Helping a member of your family on a daily basis has almost become everyone's lot. At France Alzheimer, younger and younger people come to train on purpose.
The France Alzheimer 82 association has just closed the 2024 training campaign for family caregivers. President Jean-Paul Gauthié takes stock.
What lessons do you learn from this campaign?
2024 has confirmed a major trend: the family caregivers who contact us often still carry out a professional activity. France Alzheimer 82 tries to take this situation into account and demonstrates flexibility in the organization of sessions to allow them to benefit from it. Thus, in 2024, out of 8 sessions organized in the department, 5 took place on Saturday morning. We also noted a good intergenerational dynamic between the participants whose ages ranged from 28 to 83 years old.
What is the point of following this training?
The training has four main objectives: to better understand the mechanisms of the disease, to better assess its possibilities and to know how to recognize its limits, to better understand the help from which one can benefit and to better adapt one's attitudes to maintain an exchange relationship. Very concretely, at the end of a session, bonds of trust were forged in the group, with the kindness and expertise of the pair of facilitators (psychologist and volunteer). At the end of the session, the participants express their feelings: we feel less alone, we can talk with people going through the same situation, share tips, ways of coping with destabilizing moments, be reassured, find meaning in support. They also say it's never too early to take the training. For those who support a loved one with mild to moderate cognitive disorders at the start of the illness, it helps avoid a lot of suffering and a number of errors.
Where do the training take place?
We are keen to offer them as closely as possible to the needs we identify. Since 2014, we have carried out 90 sessions. Certainly, one in two takes place in Montauban but the others take place in 15 other towns and villages in Tarn-et-Garonne. They brought together 692 participants. We are currently preparing our 2025 campaign; people who might be interested in such a free action (funded by the CNSA) can, without obligation, obtain information by contacting us* directly.
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