Brisbane Grandma Hosts Free Webinars to Help People with Dementia

 Sue Silcox

A BRISBANE grandma will host two free webinars during Seniors Week from August 15 to 22 to help empower families and caregivers of older people with dementia and other disorders.

Sue Silcox, age 74, aka as the Brain Connector, will deliver elements of her 9-step signature program Brainsparks DISCOVERY during the webinars on August 15 and 19.

DISCOVERY (which represents disorder, individual, sensory, communication, opportunity, value, engagement, reality and you) aims to empower caregivers to learn what they need to better understand care, make an impact on those in their care and look after themselves.

“Caregiving is time consuming, stressful and demanding for family or professional caregivers and is often thankless,” Mrs Silcox said.

“They may not recognise the person they once knew as those in their care live with the frustrations of being unable to do simple tasks they once could do. Or their loss of memory may make them keep asking the same things. Perhaps they are in pain and cannot tell you, which unfortunately denies the loved one the opportunity to live their best life.”

Mrs Silcox said she wanted to change what people understood about our seniors and inspire caregivers and their families to look at the caregiving journey as one that was ‘memorable and rewarding’.

After more than 40 years working as a trainer, she retired in 2010, began dancing for fun and health and wrote her book The ABC of Compassionate Communication.

The change in lifestyle led to her involvement in the aged care sector as a volunteer and educator.

Mrs Silcox began to deliver the playful seated movement community program, Ageless Grace, in 2012. This aims to help seniors move more easily, lessen physical and cognitive decline, anxiety and depression.

She travelled to the United States in 2017 to study with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute, bringing their programs back to use in Australia and New Zealand.

Passionate about the workings of the brain, she graduated from The Neuroscience Academy, studied Movement Therapy through Tensegrity Training and achieved the Diploma of Dementia Care from the University of Tasmania.

She has been hosting public classes in aged and community care since 2011 and trains others to deliver the programs in Australia and New Zealand.

The first webinar on August 15 at 10am covers ‘Myths, mysteries and marvels of the ageing brain’. It looks at some of the questions people ask as they age and some of the great opportunities we can experience.

The second webinar on August 19 at 11am is ‘1-2-3 Energise!’ and looks at ways to energise our brains and bodies through movement and connection.

“For everyone who attends our seminars during Seniors Week, BrainSparks will provide one day of access to life-saving healthcare to a person in Kenya,” Mrs Silcox said.

Both webinars are available to register on BrainSparks at www.brainsparks.com.au