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Being with other younger people dealing with the same challenges is an enormous benefit to the participants, she said.

“The change is so dramatic. For them it’s, ‘I’m going about my life. I’m functioning in my life, I’m working, I’m driving. Then all of a sudden I’m having trouble with my cognitive skills,'” she said.

“Everyone in the group is talking about their diagnosis, very openly and very comfortably. Many have a great sense of humour. Some have questions like, ‘Has this ever happened to you?’ That peer-to-peer component is huge.”

One participant confided in Meyers about how worried he was about losing his driver’s licence. The spouse of another participant told her how much her husband looked forward to Club days. Often caregivers are still working themselves, balancing their jobs with caring for a spouse with dementia. The Club offers welcome respite.

“They’ll say things like, ‘Thank you. My husband is having a great time. Otherwise he’d be stuck in his house for five or six days at a time.’ One wife told me, ‘Normally he stays in bed late, but on Tuesdays he’s up and ready to go and says, ‘Lets not be late.'”

Young onset dementia affects about 16,000 Canadians, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. It’s defined as anyone under the age of 65 who is diagnosed with dementia. (“Young onset” is the preferred term over “early onset” because “early” is also used to describe the stage of the disease’s progression.) Though it’s hard to say if the disease is becoming more common, it is certainly being diagnosed more often as the stigma of dementia diminishes.