An exceptional meeting with a tremendous uplifting of my spirit. I can use this day to keep me in a positive mind set. Thank you. (person living with dementia).

Came with negative feeling. Going home very positive (person living with dementia).

I found the session very informative and helpful. The presenters with dementia were EXCELLENT (person living with dementia).

It was excellent! It particularly helped my husband who has felt isolated and alone. He has felt useless and worthless. Today, at least, he knows he has worth. I hope it stays! It has given me hope (partner in care).

Excellent! As a result of attending today I have been sensitized that having dementia is not as tragic as it all too often is made out to be. So grateful to organization committee and all the great volunteers (formal care provider/professional).

The above quotes represent just some of the many comments we have received since the second A Changing Melody forum took place on Saturday November 12th, 2005 at 89 Chestnut in Toronto, Ontario. A Changing Melody is a learning and sharing forum specifically designed for persons with early stage dementia and their partners in care and is sponsored by the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP) in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC), the Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO), and the Dementia Advocacy Support Network International (DASNI).

Final counts are still being tallied, but we estimate that over 150 people attended the second A Changing Melody. At the forum, participants shared many tips and strategies for living with an illness causing dementia and MAREP staff are currently pulling those comments together to share with others. A copy of the tips and strategies shared at the forum will be available on the MAREP and ASC website’s shortly.

A formal evaluation of the second Changing Melody forum is currently being conducted by MAREP to examine the experience and the impacts of the forum on participants. The ultimate goal of the evaluation is to develop a toolkit to help others develop and implement their own forums for persons living with dementia and their family partners in care. MAREP hopes to have this toolkit ready once the evaluation process is completed, sometime in the new year.

Over the next month or so, the planning committee with be exploring the possibility of holding a third Changing Melody in November 2006. Stay tuned for more information about future Changing Melody forums.

For more information about A Changing Melody contact Sherry Dupuis at MAREP at 519-888-4567, ext. 6188 or anyone of the partners on the project.