Disorder Society Of India Soon Open Coimbatore Chapter
Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the care and support to people suffering from dementia, will soon open a chapter in Coimbatore. Vazhikatti Mental Health Foundation, the non-profit wing of Vazhikatti Mental Health Centre and Research Institute, along with Shyam Viswanathan, a management consultant and his wife Vijayalakshmi Viswanathan, a human resource consultant, have taken the initiative to form a support group for dementia in the city, which is eventually expected to grow into the local chapter of ARDSI. The activities of the support group will include creating awareness on Alzheimer’s disease, creating facilities for detection, training people to take care of patients suffering from dementia, starting a day-care centre and a residential facility for them.
Mr. Viswanathan’s father is an Alzheimer’s patient but, by the time the family realised it, the disease had entered its middle stage. “It is not just the patient that suffers, the family suffers along with the patient,” he says. “There are a lot of families that are dealing with Alzheimer’s and yet unaware of the complications of the disease. By forming a support group, we could bring such people together and discuss what can be done to bring the situation under control,” he adds. Four to five per cent of the geriatric population has dementia, says K. Selvaraj, Director and Professor of Psychiatry, Vazhikatti Mental Health Foundation. Anyone who is interested in joining the group can contact: Dr. Selvaraj at 98422 59062, 0422-4397671 or Vijayalakshmi Viswanathan at 97861 33333.
