East Anglia NPSIG

Can you help? Yasmin is conducting research into cognitive changes during the perimenopause. Please contact Yasmin at: y.palmer@uea.ac.uk or scan the QR code to find out more. @uniofeastanglia @perimeno_cog #perimenopause #menopauseresearch

Do you know the 7 new 'best practices' for relaying a diagnosis of dementia? Did you know previous standards did not take input from the person with disease or from the caregiver/care-partner? This is a super important issue and Melissa Armstrong @FixelInstitute and colleagues performed an important 'freshly' published study. Key points: - It is common for folks to report not receiving a dementia diagnosis. - There are standards and as the authors point out they are more than 10 years old. - Guess what, the standards were developed without asking the person with disease or caregiver/care-partner. - The authors used a multi-stakeholder working group: a person w/ disease, caregivers, Alzheimer's Association staff and clinicians from diverse backgrounds. - Employed American Academy of Neurology process for recommendation development w/Delphi voting for consensus. - 7 best practice statements achieved consensus. - 1 Clinicians must show compassion and empathy when delivering a diagnosis of dementia (level A). - During dementia diagnosis disclosure, clinicians should - 2 ask regarding diagnosis preferences. - 3 instill realistic hope. - 4 provide practical strategies. - 5 provide education and connections to high-quality resources. - 6 connect caregivers to support resources. - 7 provide written summaries of the diagnoses, plan, and relevant resources (each level B). My take: It is about time someone addressed this topic and included both persons with disease and relevant stakeholders. The 7 best practices are simple and practical. In my experience many clinicians avoid this discussion rather than 'leaning into it.' If clinicians are concerned that cognition is slipping, measuring function over time and employing the use of neuropsychology can be very helpful. These discussions are as important to caregivers and care-partners as they are to family members. I love the author's suggestion that 'health system changes (e.g., for sufficient time), improved access to specialty dementia care, and clinician training for delivering difficult diagnoses' are all needed. neurology.org/doi/10.1212/CP…

Antipsychotics used too often as a first-line response to difficult behaviour in #dementia (most often agitation) rather than as a considered second-line treatment when other non-pharmacological approaches have failed via @NHSEngland england.nhs.uk/london/wp-cont… #BGSconf

ADHD’er? Autistic? Clinician or researcher in the space? This one’s for you! doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.1… For those playing along since Amsterdam last year, I’m so thrilled to share the latest publication from my PhD 🥳 Hop on into @TheJCPPadvances and have a look 👇

Unbelievably proud of this clinical guidance paper - the culmination of years of work. We hope it will meaningfully guide practice, research and training in #neuropsychological interventions across Australia & the world @AustPsych @ASSBI1 @INSneuro link.springer.com/article/10.100…

The October 2023 #AAC Awareness sales graphic is here! I will be posting a screen reader-friendly version ASAP! Download a high-resolution PDF with clickable links to the US App Store and vendor websites via bit.ly/AACAwarenessSa…. #AACMonth23 #AACAwareness #ATChat