'I was diagnosed with dementia in my 40s'

Dementia was not thing Peter Alexander expected to beryllium diagnosed with successful his precocious 40s.

It meant leaving his occupation and adapting to a caller mode of life.

Now, aged 56, Peter is passionate astir addressing the stigma astir the information often associated with aged people.

"I mightiness not ever beryllium capable to explicit it successful the aforesaid way, but I'm inactive the aforesaid idiosyncratic I was, wrong I'm inactive Peter," helium told BBC News NI.

Peter was 49 erstwhile helium made an assignment with a neurologist and was sent for a scan.

"I was starting to conflict to conscionable deadlines (at work), which had ne'er been a occupation before, and during meetings, I wouldn't beryllium capable to deliberation of a connection erstwhile speaking," said Peter, who is primitively from England but has lived successful Northern Ireland with his wife, Jill, for respective years.

"I retrieve the day precise clearly, it was 14 January 2018 erstwhile the results came backmost and the doc said: 'Peter, I person diagnosed you with having Frontotemporal dementia'.

"I was fundamentally told that it was nary longer harmless for maine to enactment due to the fact that I person diminished judgement and I was losing my filter, truthful it was a batch to accommodate to."

Frontotemporal dementia is an uncommon benignant of dementia that causes problems with behaviour and language.

"People deliberation erstwhile you person dementia it's lone astir forgetting things but it's much complex, it tin manifest successful antithetic ways.

"I don't privation to beryllium treated differently, it's imperative that radical really spot the person, spot beyond the condition.

"Sadly for galore people, the diagnosis tin instrumentality an atrocious agelong clip and that puts an tremendous magnitude of unit connected the household unit."

Dementia is simply a syndrome (a radical of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing diminution of encephalon functioning.

Memory nonaccomplishment is 1 of the astir communal symptoms, peculiarly the conflict to retrieve caller events.

Others tin see changes to behaviour, temper and personality, becoming mislaid successful acquainted places, oregon being incapable to find the close connection successful a conversation.

It tin scope the constituent wherever radical don't cognize erstwhile they request to devour oregon drink.

• What are dementia and Alzheimer's and however communal are they?

More than 22,000 radical are surviving with dementia successful Northern Ireland, according to the Alzheimer's Society.

The fig of radical surviving with dementia successful Northern Ireland is expected to astir triple by 2051 to 60,000. The Southern Trust is expected to person the highest fig of radical surviving with the information by 2032.

While dementia is often seen arsenic a illness of aged age, astir 5% of radical with dementia are classed arsenic having young-onset dementia.

People whose symptoms started erstwhile they were nether the property of 65 are often known arsenic having young-onset dementia.

The Alzheimer's Society estimates that determination are much than 70,000 radical successful the UK surviving with young-onset dementia.

In caller months, Peter has teamed up with different radical successful Northern Ireland surviving with dementia to marque a movie astir their acquisition of mundane life.

The documentary called Hear Our Voice chiefly focuses connected radical with young-onset dementia.

It offers a glimpse of what surviving with dementia is like, successful the anticipation that it volition make amended knowing and empathy.

Peter features passim the movie and narrates it.

"Respect was granted to radical who person dementia to marque and instrumentality power of the movie to assistance america get crossed the unsocial challenges we have," helium said.

The movie features members of Dementia NI.

The radical was acceptable up successful 2015 by 5 radical surviving with dementia, but 10 years connected they present person 15 groups crossed Northern Ireland.

The groups worked alongside the Southern and South Eastern wellness trusts erstwhile making the Hear Our Voice project.

Dr Christopher Southwell, a advisor successful Old Age Psychiatry successful the Southern Trust, believes the movie promotes a almighty message.

"Dementia is simply a information that has a large interaction connected patients and their families and sometimes arsenic healthcare professionals we admit that determination are things that tin beryllium done better," helium said.

"When I got progressive and yet watched the film, it was important for maine to beryllium capable to accidental to radical similar Peter and others down the movie that I bash perceive your dependable and instrumentality connected committee what you're saying."

Members of Dementia NI precocious met Health Minister Mike Nesbitt astatine Stormont.

They called connected him to marque reducing the clip it takes to get a dementia diagnosis a priority.

Shortly aft the movie was released, successful a statement, the wellness curate said: "I congratulate the trusts and Dementia NI for processing this almighty documentary which I person nary uncertainty volition situation existing stereotypes and volition beryllium an informative mode to amended radical successful however champion to enactment individuals surviving with dementia."

Karen Kerr is caput of engagement astatine Dementia NI.

She said: "The members are truly passionate astir the value of getting an aboriginal diagnosis and erstwhile you get an aboriginal diagnosis it opens up a batch of opportunities truthful that you tin proceed to unrecorded good with a consciousness of intent and that's besides what the movie is trying to highlight.

"When you perceive from radical similar Peter, I deliberation it demonstrates that radical with dementia person a dependable not conscionable for themselves but for everyone affected with dementia."

Peter added: "When it comes to radical similar maine with dementia, delight don't constitute america off, we person a voice, dementia doesn't specify us."