ALPENA — The Alpena Senior Citizens Center has rescheduled its symposium, Transforming Dementia Care: Empowering through the SPECAL Approach, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 22 at Alpena Community College’s Granum Theatre.

The event had to be rescheduled because of the severe ice storm that hit Northeast Michigan, knocking power out for thousands.

This free symposium for families, caregivers, and professionals, presented by the senior center and Dementia Together, will provide information about caring for those living with dementia. It will feature educational sessions, practice of tools, and a discussion about compassion fatigue. Lunch will be provided at this program, which is made possible by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Registration is required at shorturl.at/ICHFL. Call Annie Hepburn or BJ Sander at the senior center if you have questions at 989-356-3585. This symposium meets continuing education credit requirements for social workers, nurses, police officers, and emergency medical technicians, and seating is limited.

“Use of the SPECAL Method can bring about immediate and sustainable improvements in the quality of life for the person living with dementia, along with everyone involved in their care,” according to a program description from the senior center.

The SPECAL Method has been shown to increase the person’s confidence and thereby slow the rate of deterioration, reduce the need for medication, enable the person to stay in their own home for significantly longer, and minimize the distress seen all too often during and after a transition to a different care setting.

Hepburn said the SPECAL program helps both the caregiver and the person with dementia.

“It makes their life, the person living with dementia, a lot easier because we’re not contradicting, we’re not asking them repetitive questions,” Hepburn said. “We’re working with them, because they’re the expert.”

Hepburn said the SPECAL model is the best she’s seen in her training and experience with dementia programs.

“I’ve learned, over the years, many models, but this one is really easy to understand,” Hepburn said.

Hepburn and Sander are SPECAL coaches, and they are training to become practitioners.

“We’ll be able to work with caregivers one-on-one,” Hepburn said.

For more information about programs at the senior center, visit alpenaseniors.com.