to changing the systemic response to older
people living with ARBI; and to provide an
information platform from which other service
providers could develop appropriate service
delivery responses to this client population.
This presentation will impart to its audience
key aspects of service provision derived from
this project that are crucial to the delivery of
appropriate care and support.
Alzheimer's Australia South Australia
in our country over the last decades
decriminalising homosexuality, increasing
support for gay marriage and in 2012 the
Australian Government acknowledging
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
Intersex (LGBTI) individuals as a "special needs
group" in regards to aged and dementia care.
The lesbian and gay communities celebrated
this acknowledgment, programs were
developed that highlighted years of inequity
and invisibility - funding was dedicated to
specific support streams and LGBTI dementia
awareness was born. However what became
quickly apparent was if the lesbian and gay
communities had been invisible in aged and
dementia care the bisexual, transgender and
intersex communities were even more so on
the fringe and at an increased risk of isolation,
discrimination and persecution. What did
aged and dementia care know or understand
of the experiences of a transgender man
or woman, what their needs are? Did aged
and dementia care workers even know what
intersex meant? And as for bisexuality where
an issue? Alzheimer's Australia SA wanted to
know and it hasn't been an easy journey but
it's time to throw open the curtains and start
the conversations. We often talk about the
fact that dementia isn't like a broken arm; you
can't see it just being looking at a person. Well
you can't always see sexuality either but it has
important consequences on how we provide
services and care. Bisexual, transgender and
intersex individuals get dementia too.
carers who designed and built homes in which
to care for their loved ones. In both cases
the reasons behind the decision to purpose
build a home were similar; wanting to care
for our husbands for as long as physically and
mentally possible in an environment that was
supportive of both the carer and the dementia
sufferer. The facilities had to simplify meeting
the physical needs of both carer and loved one
and they had to provide a safe place in which
our husbands could make choices about daily
activities while they still had that ability and a
safe, comfortable environment in which to just
`be' when they couldn't.
managed the project, Margaret worked with an
architect. In both cases, designing to support
the carer was as important as designing the
new home for quality of life for the person
with dementia. Colour, materials and planning
were used to maximise capabilities, to cue and
support ease of everyday living. Both houses