A man suffering from dementia and reliant on a walking frame has been found nearly 200km from a Hobart nursing home after going missing.

The 67-year-old man, diagnosed with severe dementia, has been unable to tell police why he walked out of the St Anns home wearing slippers in wet weather and caught a bus to Launceston.

Locals found the confused man wandering a South Launceston street, to the relief of police who had concentrated their search around the home after hed gone missing at about midday on Sunday.

Because of his walking frame our focus was making sure he wasnt somewhere in the complex, and then we focused on about a 500m radius, police inspector Colin Riley told AAP.

With dementia youre more likely to have just stumbled into someones yard and fallen over or something like that.

The search was made more urgent by the possibility that the man could have collapsed because hed missed his scheduled dose of insulin, Inspector Riley said.

A bus ticket was found in one of his pockets and relatives told police he had lived in Launceston 20 years ago, but nowhere near the street where he was found.

He didnt know where he was and he didnt know how he got there, Riley said.

The man was taken to Launceston General Hospital before being transported back to Hobart.

Police have thanked the public for their help.

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Slipper clad dementia sufferer far from home

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FORMER England footballer Gordon Banks and Sir Michael Parkinson have relived their personal experiences with dementia to inspire the nation to reduce the stigma about the condition.

The pair, alongside broadcaster Fiona Phillips, are also encouraging people who think they have any symptoms of the condition to seek medical advice.

New research from Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) found that a quarter of people hide their diagnosis because of negative connotations surrounding dementia.

Phillips, whose parents both had dementia, said if her mother had been diagnosed earlier then she could have handled the situation better.

"I would have been able to plan more for mum instead of doing everything in a big rush," she said.

"Our house always smelt of baking when we were little and I used to love helping mum make cakes and there were always cakes in the tin.

"She rung me up at 3am one morning crying her eyes out and she said, 'I've forgotten how to make cakes.' And my childhood went then."

"The ultimate problem you have to face with anyone who has any form of dementia is that you lose them before they die," Parkinson said.

"I lost my mother 18 months to a year before she died and that is the ultimate desperate tragedy."

Banks, whose brother David suffered from the condition, recalled, "We sat in the lounge talking to him and we would ask him a question and he would just go blank - he wouldn't answer it - he couldn't remember what we were discussing."

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UK stars reveal dementia heartbreak

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CHICAGO, Sept. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Seventy-five (75) percent of people with dementia and 64 percent of caregivers believe there are negative associations for those diagnosed with dementia in their countries, according to survey fielded by Alzheimer's Disease International and published today in the World Alzheimer Report 2012: Overcoming the Stigma of Dementia. The report was released on Alzheimer's Action Day as part of World Alzheimer's Month activities engaging people in the cause and raising awareness about the disease.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/57800-world-alzheimer-report-2012-overcoming-negative-stigma-dementia

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120921/MM77915 )

In response, Alzheimer's Association Early-Stage Advisors, men and women from across the U.S. living with the disease, and their caregivers developed tips on how to cope with the stigma surrounding Alzheimer's based on their personal experiences.

"The Report reveals that people with dementia and their care partners often feel disconnected from society, and sometimes even by their own friends and family members," said Beth Kallmyer, MSW, vice president of constituent services at the Alzheimer's Association. "The misconceptions and stigma create unnecessary barriers to progress such as improving care and support services and increasing funding for research."

In the current Report, nearly one in four people with dementia (24 percent) who responded to the survey said they hid or concealed their diagnosis, citing stigma as the main reason. They expressed concerns that their thoughts and opinions would be "discounted and dismissed," and that they would be "treated more positively" if they did not reveal their diagnosis.

The authors noted that social exclusion was a "major theme" with 40 percent of people with dementia in the survey reporting they have been avoided or treated differently because of their dementia. Respondents said their friends and family "say they don't know how to behave 'normally' around me anymore," and many have "drifted away."

A survey respondent with dementia from the U.S. said: "It's very interesting to see how people close to me act. It's almost as if they are afraid of bringing up the subject. Being a cancer survivor, I know that I was constantly asked how I was doing while I was going through treatment. With Alzheimer's, no one asks."

The report found that when people with dementia are able to make new connections, it is often with people in similar circumstances. Sixty-six (66) percent of survey respondents who have dementia said that they have made friends who are connected to dementia, often finding each other through community-based support groups, online chat or bulletin boards, or through Alzheimer associations.

"People with dementia, especially in the early and middle stages, can take part in many everyday activities. They have the same needs as everyone else for social interaction and engagement in meaningful activities, even in the later stages of the disease. We encourage people living with Alzheimer's or another dementia to be involved in making decisions that affect them for as long as they can, to help maintain their autonomy, dignity and self-esteem," Kallmyer said.

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World Alzheimer Report Reveals Negative Perceptions About People With Dementia

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Dementia campaigners and supporters gathered in Queens Park on Saturday to release coloured balloons in support of Alzheimers Queensland.

Claudia Baxter

THE Ipswich sky was dotted with turquoise coloured spots on Saturday as Ipswich dementia campaigners released 100 balloons to raise awareness of the deadly disease.

Led by dementia awareness campaigner Debbie Phipps, friends, family and supporters gathered at Queens Park for the second balloon release.

Mrs Phipps hoped the event, held for the first time last year, would continue to push their case for increased funding to find a cure.

Dementia affects 280,000 Australians, and by 2050 the number of people suffering from the disease is expected to reach one million.

Mrs Phipps said since beginning to campaign for the cause last year she had educated many people unaware of the devastating effects of dementia.

"A lot of people are really happy and have learnt things about dementia they didn't know about. A lot of people don't know much about it," she said.

"It's that support and knowing someone else cares and understands."

Among the supporters on Saturday was Patti Gerchow, who watched her mother succumb to dementia symptoms.

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Balloons raise dementia awareness

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The man told police he had lived in Launceston 20 years ago.

A man suffering from dementia and reliant on a walking frame has been found nearly 200 kilometres from a Hobart nursing home after going missing.

The 67-year-old man, diagnosed with severe dementia, has been unable to tell police why he walked out of the St Ann's home wearing slippers in wet weather and caught a bus to Launceston.

Locals found the confused man wandering a South Launceston street, to the relief of police who had concentrated their search around the home after he'd gone missing at about midday on Sunday.

"Because of his walking frame our focus was making sure he wasn't somewhere in the complex, and then we focused on about a 500-metre radius," police inspector Colin Riley told AAP.

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"With dementia you're more likely to have just stumbled into someone's yard and fallen over or something like that."

The search was made more urgent by the possibility that the man could have collapsed because he'd missed his scheduled dose of insulin, Inspector Riley said.

A bus ticket was found in one of his pockets and relatives told police he had lived in Launceston 20 years ago, but nowhere near the street where he was found.

"He didn't know where he was and he didn't know how he got there," Inspector Riley said.

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Dementia sufferer found 200km from home

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