Support Group for Caregivers of people with FTD (San Luis Obispo)

Time: 2:30 to 4pm on the second Saturday of each month Place: Currently meeting on Zoom (call or email to receive a Zoom link) Contact: Dr.
Liz Johnston, PhD, LCSW Phone: show contact info A welcoming monthly meeting providing information and support for caregivers of people with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
This is an open group.
Caregivers can drop in for information, supportive discussion and care giving tips.
FTD is a form of dementia that affects younger people in their 40s or 50s.
The actor Bruce Willis was recently diagnosed with FTD.
FTD is different from Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the first FTD symptoms is a loss of empathy for loved ones – thus FTD is often misdiagnosed as depression or a mid-life crisis.
People with FTD often behave in socially inappropriate ways, develop strange routines or fixate on certain foods.
FTD can progress rapidly and patients may need increasing care.
Many medical professionals are not aware of FTD.
Research into a cure is just beginning.
Because FTD affects people in mid-life, the patient’s work and family situation is severely impacted.
Persons with FTD often lose their jobs and need monitoring in their home environment.
This can be extremely difficult for families with children where both partners work.
Thus caregivers need support and information to cope with FTD.
Background information: Website of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration https://www.
theaftd.
org/understandingftd/ftd-overview Video “It Is What It Is” follows the stories of 4 families coping with FTD: https://www.
youtube.
com/watch?v=Ue3y60AsMCE