Living with mild cognitive impairment

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Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) refers to a decline in cognitive abilities which is greater than expected for normal aging but not severe enough to markedly interfere with a person's ability to manage their daily abilities. About 1 in 10 adults over the age of 65 years of age has MCI and recognizing MCI represents an opportunity for early intervention that could impact quality of life as well as prevent or delay the onset of dementia. In 2012 the Alzheimer Society London and Middlesex began facilitating a program to support individuals living with (MCI) entitled “Learning the Ropes.” This 6 week program, developed at Baycrest Hospital, aims to optimize cognitive health through lifestyle choices, memory training and psychosocial support. The content of this evidence based program includes formal instruction, interactive discussion and participation in training exercises. The program is delivered by Registered Social Workers at ASLM, tutored and trained by Dr. J. Fogarty, London Health Sciences Centre and Dr. Kelly Murphy, Baycrest Hospital. Since its inception 60 participants have completed the program, which includes the individual with a diagnosis of MCI and their family member or friend. The five ‘ROPES’ strategies are taught and emphasized throughout the 6 week session in addition to lifestyle and memory health education. As a result of the success of the MCI Program we have created an MCI Alumni Group to allow participants to obtain education and ongoing support. This group was in direct response to the participant's interest in continued opportunities to apply their new learning, to support one another and to obtain continued education on developments in the MCI community. Research shows that people with MCI can acquire new information and apply that learning to improve their performance on cognitive tasks and improvements in risk factors are associated with reduced dementia prevalence. Engaging in the Learning the Ropes program assists participants in making positive changes to promote their health and everyday memory to optimize their experience as a person living with MCI.