News Photo by Darby Hinkley SPECAL Master Practitioner Cyndy Luzinski speaks to a crowd of over 150 people on Thursday at the Transforming Dementia Care symposium at Alpena Community College’s Granum Theatre, hosted by the Alpena Senior Citizens Center. Luzinski is the founder and executive director of Dementia Together, based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

ALPENA — Over 150 people attended Thursday’s Transforming Dementia Care symposium at Alpena Community College’s Granum Theatre, hosted by the Alpena Senior Citizens Center, and made possible with a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

SPECAL Master Practitioner Cyndy Luzinski spoke about the SPECAL (pronounced “speckle”) method, a practical, evidence-based dementia management method that simplifies caregiving and “places the well-being of the person with dementia at the center of care,” according to Luzinski’s Dementia Together website. “SPECAL is a family-led model which has demonstrated improved empathy, harmony, and resilience for care partners.”

Luzinski is the founder and executive director of Dementia Together, a nonprofit based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“We exist so that no one has to walk the dementia journey alone,” Luzinski said about Dementia Together. “The reason for coming to Alpena, specifically, is because Annie and BJ from the Alpena senior center found out about SPECAL.”

Annie Hepburn is the Alpena Senior Citizens Center director, and BJ Sander is the center’s program manager. Hepburn and Sander are SPECAL coaches, and they are training to become practitioners.

Luzinski explained that SPECAL is “a person-centered care model that’s family-driven, and when people apply the really simple SPECAL principles, they can promote lifelong well-being for the person living with dementia, and decrease the stress level for the care partners … It’s a positive way to manage dementia without needing to know medical terminology.”

Contented Dementia Trust began development of the SPECAL method more than 30 years ago in the United Kingdom, and it was introduced in North America 15 years ago.

“Alpena has the first senior center in North America where they’re practicing the SPECAL method and teaching it,” Luzinski said. “No other senior center is doing that. Dementia Together is bringing SPECAL to North America, and we do education, enrichment, all that programming, but we’re not a senior center, and they are. We are so fortunate in Michigan to have the Alpena senior center, because you’ve got leaders who are truly innovative. They heard about SPECAL, and they wanted to adopt it, right away. This really works. It’s so simple, and nobody else is doing it.”

She added that the Alpena Senior Citizens Center is part of Dementia Together’s SPECAL Network.

“They really are leading the way in this country,” Luzinski said of the Alpena senior center. “It’s exciting. I’m proud of them.”

SPECAL began as an acronym for Specialized Early Care for Alzheimer’s, but is now referred to as simply SPECAL, according to the Contented Dementia Trust website. The model is applicable to all forms of dementia.

“SPECAL is highly practical and effective,” the Dementia Together website notes. “It gives those in caregiving roles, the why, what, and how to promote lifelong well-being for the person living with dementia.”

Luzinski talked to attendees about “humble deferral” when interacting with those who have dementia.

“When somebody with dementia is trying to make sense of what’s happening, without recent facts storing efficiently, while feelings are storing the same way as usual, we have to change how we interact with them,” Luzinski said. “So, when we understand dementia as a simple disability, where facts aren’t storing efficiently, but feelings are, it changes how we interact. And so, one of the strategies we use when somebody with dementia might be saying or doing something that doesn’t make sense to us, rather than contradicting them, we just join the club with them, and we keep our mouths shut, and we smile, and we humbly defer to what is making sense to them. And by doing that, we are going to reduce the risk of increased agitation and anxiety.”

She also talked about focusing on how the person with dementia is feeling.

“We do need a lot of empathy to know that it’s the feelings that matter, not the facts,” Luzinski said.

The three golden rules of SPECAL are:

Don’t ask direct questions (The recent facts may not have been stored.)

Listen to the expert (The person living with dementia is the expert. Their questions and phrases are highly significant.)

Don’t contradict (Do not argue with the facts they use to make sense of what is happening.)

The SPECAL method has been shown to:

Increase the person’s confidence, helping to slow the rate of decline in observed symptoms.

Reduce the need for medication.

Enable the person to remain in their own home for significantly longer.

Minimize the distress that often occurs during and after a transition into a different care setting.

Decrease care partner guilt.

Members of the DREAM Team attended Thursday’s symposium to gain a better understanding of how to apply SPECAL principles to situations they encounter with those who have dementia. DREAM stands for Dementia, Resources, Educate, Advocacy, and Mentorship. Members include representatives from many community organizations, including MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, 911 dispatchers, Alpena Fire EMTs, Alpena Police, Alpena Sheriff, and Michigan State Police.

Alpena Police Chief Eric Hamp and about half of his department attended the event. Hamp is a member of the DREAM Team.

“I’m part of the committee that’s bringing this program to Alpena,” Hamp said. “We felt there was a need for people to have more knowledge regarding dementia and how to handle it.”

He said first responders have a key role in assisting and working with those who have dementia.

“We are the first ones to deal with these people when things go wrong,” Hamp said. “These are very difficult situations, and any type of education we can get to add some more tools to the bag for the officers to hopefully have a happy ending to these situations, I’m all for it.”

He said calls relating to those with dementia come in regularly.

“We deal with these calls,” Hamp said. “They’re tough situations to deal with, and if you don’t know how to handle it, that’s a problem. We’re expected to know how to either resolve the situation, or where to go to get answers to get these people the help that they need.”

Hamp has a personal stake in dementia care, as well.

“For me, personally, my mother is going through this, so it hits home,” Hamp said.

Attendees were pleased with the scope of information offered at Thursday’s event.

Thom Seymour traveled from Atlanta to attend the symposium. His wife was diagnosed with dementia about a year ago.

“This is really in-depth, and it’s showing me some things I’m doing wrong,” Seymour said during a lunch break at the symposium.

He said the tips, “don’t ask questions,” and “don’t contradict,” resonated most with him.

“In my experience, as brief as it is, those are the things that cause the most problems,” Seymour said. “Right now, those are the two biggest things” he said he was going to work on.

He said he was “absolutely amazed” with the turnout, as he thought there might be about 40 people there.

“I think the presentation is right on the money,” Seymour said. “It’s covering all the concerns I had, and I’m sure that will continue this afternoon. Everybody should attend one of these.”

Laurie Szczesny of Harrisville was also impressed with the event.

“My father had dementia and passed away a few years ago,” she said. “And my mother is just now showing signs of memory impairment.”

She said she attended the symposium to gather more information to help understand what to do as her mother’s dementia progresses.

“So far, what I’ve heard has been very, very helpful,” Szczesny said. “It’s really explained a lot of the behaviors I saw from my dad, and tools that I can use with my mother.”

Szczesny would love to see more programs like this implemented in the surrounding areas.

“I think more people need to be educated, just to properly respond to people when they’re in that situation,” she said. “I really appreciate that they’re putting this on, and I hope more senior centers and more counties can start educating people on this, because I think it’s very helpful.”

To learn more about dementia resources and programs offered locally, visit the Alpena Senior Citizens Center at 501 River St., Alpena, go to their website at alpenaseniors.com, or call the center at 989-356-3585. For more information about Dementia Together, visit dementiatogether.org.